Upside Down
by melongone
Summary: After the match with Rakuzan, Furihata Kouki never expected that he'd be seeing Akashi anytime soon, not that he thought about it in in the first place. Unexpectedly, shortly after the match, his mom, after nine years of being a widow, decided to marry the man she had been secretly dating for the past two years; the man who happened to be Akashi Seijuurou's father. [AkaFuri]
1. Remarriage

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

***note:** (Revised – Rewritten: 03/22/2014)

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 1**: Remarriage

* * *

It wasn't that Furihata Kouki had anything against his mother's decision, in fact, he was quite happy for her –after nine long years, she finally found someone again, someone to give her the love and care that she deserved. But, everything was just all so too sudden. Why did she decide to tell him only now, now that _almost_ _everything _had been decided.

Sitting at the table, quietly taking his dinner, it was then when Furihata Keiko, Furihata's mother, broke to him the news –the news regarding a decision, that little did they both know, will spin Furihata's life 180 degrees in ways neither of them had imagined.

"Kouki, I'm getting remarried."

At that day, it really was a wonder to him as to why his mother had cooked _that much_. From the moment he saw all of his favorite dishes on the table, he already knew that something was up; however, he didn't see this one coming at all.

Again, he had nothing against this but it was just all so too sudden.

Hearing those words come out from his mother's mouth, out of shock, rice showered out from Furihata's mouth along with some other food. Choking a bit, he chugged down a whole glass of water in one gulp, which instead of relief, only caused greater disaster –ending him up spraying water from his mouth all over the place. On the brighter side, before it sprinkled out of his mouth, the water managed to reach the food stuck in his trachea and brought it out along with it. Okay, so he was able to experience relief, somewhat, but nevertheless, it was a disaster.

Seconds later, after recovering from the invasion of both food and water in his throat and successfully catching up with his breath, he hesitantly turned to his mom. Trembling slightly, he managed to stammer out, "S-so let me g-get this c-clear… Y-you're g-getting r-remarried?

Guiltily looking away, she only replied with a nod.

Furihata felt his blood pressure decreasing and his whole body starting to go jelly. Fortunately, he was able to get a grip and was able to prevent himself from passing out. With a huge frown carved on his forehead, in an irritated tone, he whined, "Mmooomm! You could've at least told me you were seeing someone! Geez, you suddenly tell me you're getting married… I haven't even met the guy yet! I mean– after you get married, I'll be living with him and all that but I don't even know how he looks like! Mom! Mom! Since when have you been seeing this guy in the first place!?"

Slightly twitching, Keiko groaned, "S-since two years ago…"

Furihata's jaw dropped, "T-two years and you didn't even mention him to me even just once!?"

A whimpering, Keiko huffed her cheeks. Sounding apologetic, she reasoned, "But I was scared you wouldn't approve. I really love him, Kouki. And he really, really, really, really loves me too. Not to mention, he's a widow like me. O-our meeting was just like destiny!"

Rolling his eyes and slightly shaking his head, Furihata growled, "How can I not not approve? All you ever did for the past nine years was look after me. It's actually about time you have someone do the same for you again, mom."

Soon after Furihata had said that, the sound of someone sniffling began to occupy the room. It was Keiko. With watery eyes, she bit her lower lip and squealed, "N'awww, that's so sweet, Kouki-chan!"

Furihata twitched slightly, "M-mom, cut it out. It's embarrassing."

Almost immediately, the expression that was on Keiko's face was replaced with a slight frown and a pout, "Geez, you're no fun, Kouki! No wonder you still don't have a girlfriend."

The comment stabbed the brunette right in the chest. Remotely, he flinched.

Ignoring Furihata's reaction, casually, Keiko requested, "Anyway, hurry up and fix the mess you made. After that, fix yourself up. Seiji-kun will probably be here in no time."

Furihata's eye twitched, "E-eh!?"

Keiko shrugged, "He told me that he had matters he wanted to discuss with me –and you, so he wanted to drop by. He also said that aside from that, he personally wanted to ask for your permission to marry me. I wasn't supposed to tell you about the marriage to be honest –he told me that he wanted to be the one to break it to you, but then knowing you, I mean… c'mon, just look at the mess you made on the table. Kouki can be easy to misunderstand at times. I don't want Seiji to misunderstand that he's causing me trouble by troubling you that's why I told you. I also don't want you too look embarrass yourself in front of someone you just met, just imagine if you reacted that way in front of him. I know you'd feel bad, and I wouldn't want that. After all, Kouki-chan is my precious baby~"

Saying so, she stood up and began placing the leftover food in a container, then into the refrigerator. After all the leftover had been neatly placed in the refrigerator, still edible for tomorrow, Keiko, from the fridge, took out a set of containers which contained untouched food that she cooked along with Furihata's favorites. Plating them nicely on her best plates, she heated them cautiously.

As she did so, although feeling nervous, Furihata cleaned up the mess he made along with his plate. Wiping the table clean, he segregated the crumbs and liquids from the plate, disposed of them and began working on the plate. Upon finishing, he headed upstairs and changed into casual attire. Returning to the dining room, he noticed something.

"Mom, why are there four plates?" he asked.

Placing the cuisines on the table, she was just about to answer when the doorbell rang, "Ahh, I'm sorry, dear, but could you get that for me? It's probably Seiji and _his son_."

'_He has a son?' _shrugging the thought aside, Furihata attended to the door only to be greeted by two redheads –one unfamiliar to him and the other _too _familiar. His body froze.

"Ehhh!? You must be Kouki-kun! You're just as cute as Keiko said! A-ahh! Pardon me, I'm Akashi Seiji. Nice to meet you. I am here to ask for your permission for your mother's hand and–" as he blabbed on, he noticed that Furihata's eyes were glued to the redhead standing beside him. He broke into a smile, "Ahh, that's right. You're from Seirin, right? Then you've probably met my son already. If I'm not mistaking, didn't you face off with him? Ahh, oh well, that aside, let me formally introduce you to each other. Seijuurou, this is Kouki-kun, Keiko-chan's son. Kouki-kun, this is Seijuurou, my son! Please get along!" he winked at both of them.

Akashi ran his eyes through Furihata, "Seirin's Number Twevlve, Furihata Kouki. I remember now. Tetsuya's teammate." he thought out loud.

"Well then, it's nice to formally meet you, Furihata Kouki. Please remember to know your place." after the unfriendly greeting, Akashi offered his hand to the brunette.

"Oya Seijuurou, that's not a very nice thing to say to your future stepbrother! In case you're forgetting something, technically, after my marriage with Keiko-chan, Kouki-kun will not only be your stepbrother, but also your _older _brother. What did I tell you about respect?" Seiji whined.

Akashi snorted, "I'll give him respect once I see that he deserves it, father. Please do not worry though, I will try my best not to harm him in any way for your sake. Anyway, Furihata Kouki, how long are you just going to stand there and stare at me. Are you not planning to take my hand, because if so, then I hope you don't mind me putting it away."

Just when Akashi was already retreating his hand, suddenly, although nervously, Furihata grabbed onto it. Fidgeting, he stammered, "A-A-Ahm, I-I'm s-s-s-s-sorry! I d-didn't m-mean to t-t-t-take t-t-that l-l-long! A-anyway, n-nice t-to f-f-fo-formally m-meet y-y-you t-too, A-Akashi-k-kun."

Forgetting to let go of Akashi's hand, Furihata turned to Seiji, "A-also, n-nice t-to meet you, A-Akashi-s-san. M-my m-mom's inside. S-she c-cooked s-something f-for both of you. P-please he-help y-yourself a-and c-come in."

Seiji's eyes sparkled, "Ueeeeh~? Keiko-chan did? Keikooo-chaaan!" he sweetly sang. Removing his shoes and placing them properly on the rack, he merrily skipped in, "Sorry for intruding~"

Before they knew it, Akashi and Furihata were alone, by the doorway–

"Furihata Kouki." Akashi called.

Furihata jumped a bit. Slightly twitching, he looked up to Akashi and lamely asked, "U-uhh, yeah?"

"Do you have no intention of letting go of my hand?"

–holding hands.

Furihata choked at the realization and turned pale. Immediately, he freed Akashi's hand and bowed deeply, "I-I-I'm s-s-s-sorry!"

Akashi only snorted. He removed his shoes and helped himself in, leaving Furihata alone by the doorway.

Furihata, left alone, decided to close the door. As he did, he heaved a sigh of relief. At least Akashi didn't get physical.

As he made his way to the kitchen after securing the door, he found himself glancing at his hand.

For a cold person, Akashi sure had a warm hand.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

To the old readers: I'm sorry for the sudden revision. I just thought of a better way for the story to flow and just had to. I had three options: a) rewrite everything; b) drop the story; c) continue with half of my heart. I chose 'A' because I don't want to drop the story, at the same time, I don't like doing things half-heartedly. Haha– Sorry if I caused anyone any trouble.

To the new readers: Welcome. Haha–

Right. Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	2. Request

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

*****note:** **(Revised – Rewritten: 03/22/2014)

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 2**: Request

* * *

A quartet composed of a pair of redheads and a pair of brunettes gathered around the table. Sitting beside the male brunette was the younger of the male redhead, across the younger of the male redhead sat the older redhead and beside the older redhead and across the male brunette sat the only female in the room. Silence ruled over quite some time until finally, Seiji decided to speak up.

Starting off by clearing his throat, the redhead spoke enthusiastically, "Now that we are complete, I would want to start off by introducing everyone to one another. Keiko-chan, this is Seijuurou. Seijuurou, this is Keiko-chan."

Keiko smiled at Akashi and offered him her hand, "It's nice to meet you, Seijuurou-kun."

Politely, Akashi took Keiko's hand and greeted back, "It's a pleasure meeting you as well, Furihata Keiko-san."

Letting go of Akashi's hand, Keiko giggled, "No need to be too formal, Seijuurou-kun. If you are uncomfortable with 'mom', 'mama', 'mother' or even at least 'auntie', then please refer to me as just 'Keiko-san'."

Akashi replied with a nod.

Seiji grinned, "Alright, up next, well, I've already introduced you two to each other… Ahh! I guess that leaves me introducing myself to Kouki-kun. Okay then!"

"Kouki-kun!" he called out.

This earned him a flinch from the brunette.

Feeling that he have won the Furihata's attention, he proceeded, "I apologize for the short introduction earlier. Again, I am Akashi Seiji. Feel free to call me dad, or if not, then 'Seiji-san'. I understand that as of we speak, you have a lot of questions running through your mind like 'who is this guy', 'wtf, is my mom seriously going to marry him' and more. Truly, I apologize for not appearing sooner and for suddenly barging in like this, but, Kouki-kun…"

"I really, really, like, really, really, really love your mom! So please, I beg of you, please give me your permission to take her hand! I'll do anything! If you want siblings, I can provide you one –but only after the wedding!" Seiji began blabbing.

"Uhh–" Furihata sweat dropped.

"What is it, Kouki-kun?! You want your mom to look beautiful forever? I can gauge my eyes out and give them to you –because in my eyes, she'll always be beautiful!" he continued on.

He was about to go for more when suddenly, a handful of seaweeds was shoved right in his mouth. With watering eyes, unwillingly, he gulped it. Akashi twitched upon seeing his father do such tremendous stunt.

If Akashi and his dad had anything in common at all, then that would be their utter hate for seaweed.

"K-Keiko… w-why? All I ever did was l-love y-you."

This only earned him more handfuls –yes, _handfuls_– seaweeds from Keiko.

Smiling wickedly, in an innocent voice, she answered, "Sometimes, you talk waaaay more than necessary, Seiji-kun. Anyway, boys, now that we all know one another, why don't we hear out Kouki's reaction to this, then Seijuurou-kun's –reaction to the wedding, that is."

Furihata furrowed his brows. Stealing a glance at the currently half-conscious redhead beside his mom, for a glimpse second, he saw his own father in Akashi's. They were alike. Arriving to this conclusion, seriously and sincerely, he answered, "I'm okay with it. Definitely. You have my permission to marry my mother, but only under one condition: Please take care of her. If you ever hurt her, please remember, Aka– Seiji-san… I know that you don't like seaweeds."

Furihata's sudden display of courage earned him a reputation for Akashi without him knowing. Hearing the supposedly coward speak with such guts, it got the mismatched eyed basketball player's eyebrow raising. Perhaps he wasn't a bore after all. Despite the small spark that had ignited in Akashi's interest, his face remained stoic. It was just a perhaps. Nothing that special.

In another note, Seiji could only raise his thumb as reply to Furihata's conditions. He still has not recovered.

"Alright then, Seijuurou-kun, your turn."

Akashi felt Furihata glance at him. How predictable. He shrugged. Casually, he stated his opinion, "After seeing what I have seen, all I can say is that, I approve of you for my father. I say that, once under you, he is in good hands."

Keiko smiled, "Very well then, looks like nobody's against anything. Let's skip to the next agenda then, shall we?"

Akashi let out a snort. Furihata nodded. Meanwhile, Seiji raised his thumb again.

"Okay then. As for the next agenda, I know it may be too much to ask but Seiji-kun and I have a request to ask both of you…" she started off plainly.

Akashi was pretty indifferent, but Furihata –he had a terrible feeling about this.

"Since no one is really against us getting married, our plan goes on. Apparently, that plan involves a lot of rearrangement at your household, Seijuurou-kun. Seiji-kun thought that all the ruckus that may occur might distract you from your studies so…" Keiko beamed a smile at Akashi, "We've decided that you should move here with Kouki until the whole wedding thing has been taken care of. Aside from getting you away from distractions, we also intend for you and Kouki to get to know each other. I mean, you're going to be brothers and all –it would be nice if you formed some kind of bond."

Of all the times Furihata had to drink water, it just had to be at that moment. Accidentally, he showered Akashi with water –water fresh from his mouth that is. Petrified, Furihata couldn't bring himself to move –not even utter a word, much more to say 'sorry'. This earned a firm _"No." _from the redhead as he wiped himself with his handkerchief and glared icily at the seemingly no longer breathing brunette.

Unfortunately for both of them, "Ahh, but I've already made arrangements with Rakuzan and Seirin, Seijuurou." Seiji, who seemed to have recovered, butted in.

Dark aura blazed out from Akashi's body, _"You did what?"_

"Yeah! I've also informed them about Kouki-kun's transfer to Rakuzan after the wedding!" unable to read the atmosphere, he added.

Furihata's brain short-circuited, **"W-What!?"**

"Yeah! And oh, by the way, Keiko-chan and I will really be busy so it's only going to be the two of you here. Please watch over Seijuurou-kun for me, ok–" Seiji was cut off by Keiko, "Honey, I thought we've already talk about this. We were going to tell them, **bit by bit**, _not all at once._" she cracked a grin and pulled out a pack of seaweeds out of nowhere.

With that, Seiji received twenty more handfuls of seaweeds.

* * *

Meanwhile, both Furihata and Akashi contemplated.

Akashi mentally sighed. _'How troublesome. At least Tetsuya would be there though.'_

Furihata, on the other hand, saw his life flash before his eyes.

'_I'm going to die, aren't I?'_

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

It's 4:21 in the morning and I don't know why I'm still doing this. Could it be love? Could be. Could be not. /yawns/ I'm actually hoping that it's better than before. Haha–

Right. Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	3. The Arrival

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

***note:** (Revised – Rewritten: 03/23/2014)**  
**

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 3**: The Arrival

* * *

A week had passed since Furihata was informed of his mother's remarriage, a week since he met his future stepfather, a week since he found out that the man his mother decided to marry was none other than the father of the scariest person ever, Akashi Seijuurou. It's been a week, a week since he had been told that after a week, his mother would be temporarily be moving out of the house –a week since he had been notified that after a week, Akashi would be moving into his household.

Switching into his outdoor shoes, Furihata felt butterflies in his stomach.

If it has been a week since he had been told that after a week, his mom would be moving out and Akashi would be moving in, then he couldn't see it any other way. Surely, he was an anxious person, but he wasn't stupid. If that was the case, then it could only mean one thing: Today was the day Akashi's moving in with him.

Remembering this, he felt his blood pressure decrease. Will he be able to survive?

Finding himself unable to answer the question he left himself with, the brunette whimpered as he walked out of school and made his way home.

* * *

"I'm h–", pushing the door open, with half of his body already inside the house, Furihata was cut right midway through his sentence upon seeing the interior of his house. Something changed.

"Home?"

Truth be told, everything was different.

Just when he was about to retreat, believing that he entered the wrong household, he was greeted by the person he could never possibly mistake for someone else, "I see that you have finally arrived, Furihata Kouki."

Chills crept up his spine and his body stiffened.

Through the perimeters of his eyes, he took a glimpse of the speaker –and just as he thought, it was none other than, Akashi. Confirming so, he found himself at lost for words. His breathing even began intensifying.

Just knowing that the heterochromiac had his eyes on him, it was already more than enough to scare the living shit out of him and render him paralyzed.

Indeed, Akashi Seijuurou was a frightening person. Unfortunately, he's the type to be easily frightened. He wouldn't be so surprised if he really does fail in surviving this hurdle.

* * *

As Furihata battled with his fear–his fear of Akashi, to be specific, the redhead simply stood there, and stared at the shaking brunette with a deadpanned face. Was this really the boy who threatened his father that he'd use seaweed against him if he hurt his mother? His gazed deepened –which worsened Furihata's trembling.

"Furihata Kouki," he called out.

The only reply he got was more shaking.

Akashi frowned.

"Just how much longer are you planning to keep me on hold _again_? You sure have some guts." he pretended to find Furihata's behavior offensive. Believe it or not though, he was just trying to encourage the boy to _do something_. Someone had to do something about the wasting of time that the brunette was doing.

Just as he anticipated, finally, they made progress, "A-ahh! N-no! I-I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't m-m-mean it t-t-that w-way!"

Alas, the puppy got a hold of himself.

Akashi snorted and dryly looked away, "I know." he answered casually.

This earned him a confused look from Furihata.

He shot him a glare, "I don't owe you any explanation. Don't expect for one. How troublesome."

After saying so, he ceased the glaring and remembered that he had something to say, "Ahh, that's right. I almost forgot, your mother left you a message at the dining table. She requested me to tell you that she did. She also requested me to inform you that your whole house had been redecorated while you were in class. Everything inside the household had been replaced –if not, then removed– and taken elsewhere, except those that are in your room. She mentioned something about needing to do some segregating with the items she had taken. Nevertheless, other than what I have told you, I know nothing else of your mother's agenda. Now, if you excuse me, I still need to unpack my things."

After updating Furihata, without waiting for a reply, Akashi walked off to what used to be master's bedroom, which was now his room, to unpack his months-worth luggage.

* * *

Having Akashi leave, Furihata felt a great sense of relief. The pounding in his chest stopped, the color of his skin returned, his sweating reduced –generally, all the symptoms of anxiety that he was feeling under the presence of Akashi, if not disappeared, then lessened. Heaving a sigh of relief, having felt his body in his control again, Furihata secured the door, removed his shoes and officially entered his household.

That Akashi…

He's really something.

Stumbling onto the wall, he took a moment to recover his the energy he had lost. As he breathed in and breathed out, the information Akashi had told him crossed his mind.

'_Ahh, that's right. Mom's message.'_

Remembering so, he forced himself back to his feet and headed to the dining room.

In the middle of the supper table, there he saw it –an envelope.

Concluding that it was the message Akashi was referring to, he walked over to the table and picked the envelope up.

"_Kouki" _it had written at the back.

Seeing that it was his mother's handwriting thus confirming that it was indeed the message, he went on and unsealed the envelope. Having unsealed it, he pulled the content of the envelope out and began reading the content of the content.

* * *

[ _To Kouki,_

_Sorry I'm not here to tell this all to you in person. You see, Seiji-kun and I have an important appointment to attend to. Anyway, as you may already know, thanks to Seijuurou-kun, I had the house redecorated. I have an agenda for our old things, well, Seiji and I do. It doesn't involve selling, it's more on preserving. Ahh– you wouldn't understand. I'll just show it to you myself when we're done with all this. Anyway, the point is, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. Right, so, that's about all I want to say. I'm going to end the message now. Take care, Kouki. Don't forget to take your meals. If there's anything you don't understand about anything, feel free to contact me, or you can just ask Seijuurou-kun. I know both of you started off with the wrong foot, but please give it a chance. We'll be calling once in a while._

_Love, mom_

_PS: Oh yeah, by the way, we've finally set a date for the wedding. The wedding's on XYXY, meaning, you and Seijuurou-kun will be living together, just the two of you, for several weeks. More time for bonding, aye? Hahaha~_

_PPS: Seriously though, Kouki, I've been secretly meeting Seijuurou-kun since we've met. I know he's quite scary, but he's a nice kid, really. He's just a bit weird that's all. But he's nice. You'll get along._

_That's about it. Alright, it's time for mom to go. Love you. Bye. _]

* * *

Having read the whole of his mom's message, Furihata fell on his knees.

_Several weeks?_

_Nice?_

"N-no way."

He was totally done for.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

3 chapters out of 11, am I awesome or what? /smacked/ Just kidding. Seriously, 8 more chapters to go and I've finally caught up. So tired. Had I only not messed up from the beginning, this wouldn't have had to happen. My deepest apologies, you guys. ; u ;

Because of my indecisiveness, I have troubled everyone… OTL

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	4. Setup

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

***note:** (Revised – Rewritten: 03/23/2014)

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 4**: Setup

* * *

It was around 7 am when Furihata received a text message from his mother requesting him to go to this specific restaurant at Yokohama with Akashi, provided with the reason that she and Akashi's father were just within the district and would very much like to have lunch with them as they think that this might just be their last chance to hang out before the wedding because they're going to be really busy for the rest of the weeks. In the message, she had also indicated to arrive by 12:10 in the afternoon, ask for table number four and message her when they get there.

From the moment he read the line 'Ask for table number 4, then message me when you get there', he should have already figured that his mother was up to no good. He should have already felt that she had an agenda behind the sudden meet-up she called for. He should have known that something like _this _was going to happen.

Sitting at a table for two, there they were waiting for a message from Furihata's mother.

It was past five minutes since the brunette informed her mother about their arrival when they received a reply that Furihata should have anticipated from the very beginning.

[ _Good. Enjoy your meal with Seijuurou-kun then! We've already made arrangements with the restaurant. You can order whatever you want. Good luck, Kouki! Take care. Love you. ;D_

_Btw, we're not coming. We never intended to come~ Ahahahaha! _]

They've been setup.

* * *

Having read his mother's latest message, Furihata felt his blood pressure rise. Yes, for the first time since forever, his blood pressure actually rose. Never in his life had he felt this much resentment ever. How could she do this to him? Feeling quite betrayed, he felt an urge to throw his phone on the floor and begin manically stepping on it. _Fortunately_, Akashi was there. Although he probably didn't have the slightest idea as to what was running in Furihata's mind, it was a good thing that he was there and decided to talk. Music was a good distraction –and yes, he just labeled Akashi's voice as music.

As scary as the redhead may be, he wasn't going to deny it. He had a lovely voice.

"Furihata Kouki," he started as he read a message that had just arrived from his own phone.

"Your mother had sent me a message of apology. It seems like she and my father cannot attend to us as of we speak due to an unexpected change in their schedule. She did however mention that father had already made arrangements with the restaurant management so we should just order as everything has already been taken care of." finishing his sentence, he closed his phone and slid it back in his pocket.

Furihata who managed to hear Akashi and actually understand what he had said despite of his building up rage twitched. So she lied to Akashi huh.

"A-ahh, i-is that so? She sent me the same thing too." he decided to just go along.

A sigh passed his mouth. It wasn't like there was anything he can do.

His head began to cool down at the thought. Indeed, there was nothing he can do that didn't involve seeming like going against Akashi. It was better if he just shut his mouth and go as his mother set them to do. As much as he'd rather go home and shut himself in his room just so to avoid getting in way of the redhead in one way or another, there was no helping it. It wasn't like eating lunch with Akashi would kill him or anything. Right?

"Well then, seeing that they cannot come, if you excuse me, I'll be taking my order." after informing Furihata, Akashi summoned the waiter and began pitching in orders. Concurrently, Furihata scanned the menu.

'_W-what the hell? J-just how rich is Seiji-san?' _was his initial reaction upon seeing the prices of the delicacies they have on the list. Shaking his head a bit in hopes to rid that question because he was certainly not in the mood to think about such as of the moment, he continued running his eyes through the menu. Finally, he found something that he thought would appeal to his taste.

Believing that Akashi was done with his order, he called for the waiter's attention and gave his order.

Having have heard both of their orders, the waiter repeated each of them to check if he got it right. After getting confirmation from the brunette and the redhead, he went off to have them attended to the cooks.

Now left alone as they waited for their orders, an awkward atmosphere encompassed the two.

Soon, Furihata reverted to his usual nervous self. His heart began pounding loudly, his hands ran cold and he began to sweat in spite being in an air conditioned environment. Surely, he liked solitude. But, this just wasn't the solitude he liked. In fact, it was so far from what he preferred that he wasn't sure if this could be considered as solitude –it was just silence, awkward and nerve-wrecking silence!

Noticing the change in Furihata, Akashi snorted. Looking at the brunette straight on, he mentally snorted, _'How troublesome.'_

Of all the people who could have been his stepbrother, it just had to be this pathetic of an excuse of a person. Just look at him, there was nothing special about it. He was nothing more than _plain _and not to mention weak. He was plain and weak. Just to think that he was going to be a part of _his family_, it was a disgrace.

Just where did the blunt and straightforward Furihata Kouki he witnessed a week ago disappear to? Could it be that the bravery Furihata displayed at that time was all just a bluff? Well that's a disappointment.

Akashi sighed.

"How troublesome." he breathed lightly.

This caught the attention of Furihata, who was trying to distract himself from the fact that Akashi had been staring at him.

"Uhmm… did you say something, Akashi-kun?" he politely asked.

Finally, Akashi looked away. Indifferently, he replied, "So what if I did?"

Furihata was at lost for words. Akashi had a point. So what if he did? What was he going to do about it? It wasn't like he could actually bring himself to casually talk to Akashi. Edgily, he gulped. It was the only thing he found himself capable of doing as a form of 'reply'. This was no good. As he was now, things will never work out between the two of them.

With this in mind, bit by bit, the freshman at Seirin found himself being eaten away by his worries. He knew he had to do something. But just what can he do?

It was then when he snapped somehow, _'Something.' _he answered his own question.

Soon after answering his own question, he answered Akashi's, not in the exact same fashion when he had threatened Seiji but close enough, "I-I'm sorry." he started.

'_As expecte–' _Akashi was cut off midway through his thought.

"But y-you were staring at me s-so I t-thought what you had to s-say concerned me. I g-guess I was wrong so I'm s-sorry. I did s-something unnecessary." although he was terribly anxious, standing up for himself like that and all, he was able to execute his goal properly.

At that time, during that match with Rakuzan, after having to face off with Akashi, he already vowed to himself that he'll do his best and become braver. He didn't want to be so weak anymore. He didn't want to be so dependent on everyone. He wanted to become the very least not pathetic.

So what was he doing, shaking like a little puppy in front of Akashi all this time?

Hearing the unexpected reply from the brunette, immediately, he glanced up to him and observed.

This…

"You." Akashi started.

Furihata gulped and clenched his fists in nervousness, but did not take his gaze away from Akashi. It was going to start here, the change he vowed to undergo. He was going to face it, whatever Akashi would throw at him from that moment on even if it scared him.

"Just when I thought you were bluffing your guts." the redhead snorted.

"You're not too shabby, Furihata Kouki."

Furihata's jaw dropped slightly. He gawked at Akashi in disbelief. Did he just commend him?

"W-what?" he lamely asked.

For the first time since they've met, Akashi smirked, "I'm not going to repeat myself again."

Just right after saying so, their orders arrived.

Even when Akashi had already began to dig into his cuisine, the small grimace on his face remained.

'_I may have just pressed the right button. How interesting.'_

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I can't believe it, I'm just 6 more chapters away from chapter 11. 7 more chapters and I'm so done with the revising. /does some stretching/ Anyway, I seriously hope you like this better, if not, then at least just as much as than the old one. ; u ; I'm actually putting some thought into this. ; A ;

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	5. The After Meal Escapades

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

***note:** (Revised – Rewritten: 03/24/2014)

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 5**: The After Meal Escapades of Furihata and Akashi

* * *

The meal finished smoothly and quietly. With their plates empty and stomachs full, the two sat idly on their chairs. As usual, Furihata was skittish as always. In spite of that, unlike how he had viewed him before they started eating, Akashi found the brunette _okay_. He wasn't spectacular, terrific or the very least cool. But he didn't find him as a disgrace or a disaster anymore either. For Akashi, Furihata was now _okay_. And that was something.

"A-ah-ahrm… Akashi-kun," suddenly, Furihata spoke.

Although was in the middle of contemplating at that time, Akashi was able to catch on and reply, "What is it?"

Though slightly fidgeting,, Furihata managed to say, "I- I was thinking. S-since w-we're d-done eating a-and all, I was w-wondering if there's a-anything else you would l-like to do."

Akashi was silent for a while. He gave it some thought.

Seconds later, after doing a little calculation at the back of his mind, he answered, "It would be a waste if we went home immediately. Since we're already here, I'd like to make the maximize our resources, that's why…"

Hearing the rest of what Akashi had to say, Furihata's eyes gleamed in excitement (which Akashi found amusing).

He had been dying to visit that place ever since he was young – that place, _Yokohama Cosmoworld_.

* * *

Because Akashi's words were absolute, there they were moments later at the theme park the redhead specified. Big, wide, grand, colorful and bright –it was just like he had always imagined, even better. The sparkle in Furihata's eyes shone brighter.

"A-Akashi-kun this is… Thank you so much!" he began crying comically out of joy.

Though amused, Akashi didn't react much. He merely snickered, "Don't thank me. It's not like I came here for your sake."

"But still…" Furihata significantly trailed off as be took a quick look around. This was just beautiful.

As Furihata adored the whole theme park, Akashi glanced at his watch. 13:55 (1:55 pm), it said. Looks like they have lots of time to spare. Agreeing to his own conclusion, he turned to the brunette and finally broke the question, "So, Furihata Kouki…"

"Shall we proceed to the rides?" a smirk crossed his lips.

For a moment, Furihata completely forgot that Akashi was an intimidating person. With a certain glow in his eyes, he beamed, "You got it!"

* * *

Under Akashi's leadership, Furihata and Akashi began their great escapade. To start off, they decided to begin with the one Akashi found the most extreme: _Diving Coaster: Vanish_

The ride was fast, grand and really amazing. Towards the end, it had such a great impact that it managed to win a twitch from Akashi. Throughout the ride, Furihata was comically crying out of happiness at the same time fear. He was so happy and anxious all at the same time that he couldn't even bring himself to scream.

Finishing the ride, the two jumped from rides to more rides. After the Diving Coaster: Vanish, they proceeded to the _Cliff Drop_, wherein they are as though being dropped from a cliff and then to the _Enterprise_, a speedy and daring version of the Ferris Wheel. It didn't end there, just so everyone knew. They tried more rides after that.

In fact, they tried every single ride their eyes caught a glimpse of –except for the _Cosmo Clock _21, the Ferris Wheel of the theme park.

* * *

Having tried all the rides, the two decided to try out the games. It was then that Furihata was able to prove one thing: _Akashi was good– no, scratch that –Akashi was __**excellent**__ at __everything__. _If the bags of prizes he was carrying didn't prove it, then there was a never ending list of things that could. Akashi excelled at everything –even in arcade and carnival games. Heck even in 'Dance Dance Revolution'! To be honest, he even looked quite hot dancing.

Looking back to the things they've done earlier, a look of satisfaction cast down onto Furihata's face. Followed by this look however was a yawn. He really had fun today, but he wasn't going to lie about it –he was dead tired.

"Furihata Kouki," Akashi suddenly called him.

Airily, he replied "Yeah?"

"Let's ride the Ferris Wheel."

Hearing so, Furihata couldn't have not agreed. Immediately, he approved even though he was pretty certain that Akashi didn't need his approval to ride. His body was starting to fail him and surely, the rest he could get during the Ferris wheel ride would do him a lot of help.

* * *

'20:03' (8:03 pm), Furihata was able to see on his watch as they got in the ride. They sure did take their time huh. A small smile crossed his lips as a flashback played in his mind. As he contemplated, eventually, the ride began.

During the first half of the ride, the duo were inaudibly quiet. It wasn't until the near and, just when Furihata's consciousness was starting to slip away, did a conversation strike between the two.

"Furihata Kouki," it was Akashi who initiated it.

Since Furihata was at the verge of falling asleep when Akashi had called, he jumped a bit, "E-ehh? Huh? What?"

Ignoring Furihata's reaction, he went on, "Today was fun."

"Yeah today was fu–" Furihata, realizing that it was Akashi who said it, was stopped midway through his sentence. His mouth was left hanging open, and nothing came out after that –not in a long while at least.

"Ehrm, uhh…" he tried to say something, "Uhhhm…"

After all the stammer and stuttering, finally, he was able to say something, "I-I'm glad that t-the feeling is mutual."

Akashi stole a glance at Furihata, "You know,"

"You really are quite something."

Furihata blinked, "Uhh, is that a compliment?"

Akashi snickered, "Go figure out yourself."

After that short-lived conversation, it had been silent between the two of them throughout the whole ride. However, unlike how it usually had been, the silence was nowhere near awkward.

It was a relaxing one –even though Akashi was involved.

Even just a little bit, all thanks to everything that had happened today, Furihata found himself more comfortable around Akashi.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Boy, I'm beat. -,-'' /passes out/

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	6. Seirin

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

***note: **( Revised – Rewritten: 03/25/2014)

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 6**: Seirin

* * *

Since that day in Yokohama, the tension between Akashi and Furihata had dramatically decreased. Unlike before, they could now converse well and Furihata's stammering had lessened somehow. Akashi still called him by his full name and he was still cautious of him though. But things were a lot better compared to how they were at the beginning, so when Monday came and Furihata learned that Akashi was assigned in the same class as he was in, he didn't feel so bad.

"My name is Akashi Seijuurou. I'll be staying here for a while. Please try not to get in my way."

If he was now able to deal with Akashi's intimidating aura all by himself, what more with Kuroko Tetsuya and Kagami Taiga around!

* * *

It hadn't even been a day yet and Akashi had grown extremely popular among the girls already. In spite of this popularity, when break time arrived, not a single soul dared come close to him. Truly, he was gorgeous –but apparently, they valued their lives more than they wanted to tap Akashi's ass. It was only Kuroko and Kagami who had enough guts to approach the mismatched eyed team captain.

"Oi, Akashi! What're you doing here?" Kagami immediately shot at him.

Akashi coldly glanced at him, "I am not obliged to answer your question." saying so, he got up and walked over to Furihata, "Furihata Kouki, let's go."

"A-Ahh! Y-yeah!"

This earned a twitch of irritation from Kagami, "Oi, don't ignore me, you munchkin! And just where do you think you're dragging Furihata to!? Who do you think you are? How dare you boss around someone you just met!?"

This time around, it wasn't just a mere glance, rather, a glare. Akashi shot Kagami a glare, "Watch your mouth, Kagami Taiga." he began.

Tension surfaced between the two. It was then when suddenly, Kuroko popped out right in between them, "Kagami-kun, Akashi-kun, calm down."

On that moment, Kagami let out a yelp, "GAAH! Kuroko! Goddamn it! Don't just pop out of nowhere!"

Akashi, on the other hand, was pretty much indifferent. Releasing a sigh, he set his built up rage for Kagami aside and turned to Kuroko, "Tetsuya, do you mind teaching your teammate some manners? I'd rather not get my hands dirtied because of an ape with four eyebrows." he inquired, irritation evident in his voice.

Kuroko eyed him, "I'm afraid that teaching Kagami-kun manners is not possible. However, I do wonder," he paused. Maintaining his stoic expression, he proceeded, "What are you doing here?"

"Also, unlike Kagami-kun, I am aware that you do not just invite people to eat with you, therefore, I am quite intrigued. What is your purpose of having Furihata-kun accompany you?" he finished, still cam as ever.

Plainly and truthfully, Akashi replied, "Our house is being rearranged and so I cannot stay there. Which is why, I had been arranged to stay at Seirin until everything has been settled and was left under the custody of my future stepbrother…" he trailed off meaningfully and glanced at Furihata.

The brunette flinched and gulped.

Kuroko, just like the observant person he is, was able to catch on this gesture of Akashi. For a split second, his poker face broke and surprise was reflected in his eyes.

"Your future stepbrother…" he muttered subconsciously.

"Is Furihata-kun?"

Akashi nodded. Furihata laughed sheepishly.

Although inactive for a while during the conversation, Kagami couldn't help but to hear what he had heard. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"F-F-Furihata? A-Akashi's stepbrother?" he stammered in disbelief.

Simultaneously, the time when Furihata was asked to guard Akashi replayed in the minds of the shadow and light duo. Both their expressions darkened.

'_He's screwed.'_

Akashi ignored their reaction and turned to Furihata.

"Shall we go ahead and buy food, Furihata Kouki?"

* * *

If Kuroko had misdirection to aid him during Japanese class break time rush, Akashi had a trick of his own under his sleeves.

"All of you… get out of my way."

And to think that he just transferred there and said what he had said in a _moderate tone_.

It was a shock for both Furihata and Kagami to see the crowd make way –and for Akashi to use his ankle break technique against those who dared defy him.

Even though they were a bit comfortable with each other now, Furihata wasn't going to deny it, he still found Akashi intimidating –terribly intimidating.

* * *

At the end of the day, Akashi's popularity spread like wildfire throughout the school. It's been just a day and yet he already got half of the female population of the school interested in, if not head over heels for, him. It had been just a day and yet he was already able to make a name –a title– for himself.

It was amazing.

'_Akashi's amazing' _was what Furihata thought as he switched from his indoor shoes to his outdoor ones. Allowing himself to think for of Akashi more, gradually, he found himself admiring things about the other, even those that he used to find disturbing.

Reaching the end of his introspection, he concluded that Akashi was magical.

He was imperfect, and yet so perfect. He was such a spoiled kid, and yet a responsible person. He was so not what he seemed to be and yet at the same time he was so what he seemed to be.

Indeed, Akashi was magical.

_Paradoxical._

"Furihata Kouki." speaking of the devil, there he was, standing beside the brunette, wearing an expression that showed how impatient he was getting.

Furihata jumped in surprise, "A-Akashi-kun! Y-you surprised me." he exclaimed.

Akashi ignored Furihata's comment and proceeded in saying what he had in mind, "I suggest you ignore your habit of leaving me waiting or hanging in suspense. I am starting to lose my patience with you. If you do not do something about this, _I will_. Do you understand?"

Shivers crept up Furihata's spine, "Y-yes! I-I'm sorry!"

Just as he thought, _'Still scary!'_

And yet…

"Furihata Kouki, fix your collar."

–so cool.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

5 more chapters. Almost there. ; u ;

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	7. Akashi Seijuurou

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

***note:**( Revised – Rewritten: 03/26/2014)

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 7**: Akashi Seijuurou

* * *

Three weeks had passed since Akashi transferred to Seirin. Within those fifteen school days, a lot of things had happened before anyone could notice. Among those things are the dramatic increase in Akashi's popularity, the development in his relationship with Furihata (and everyone else) and his decision regarding which club to join.

Surprisingly, just when everyone thought he was going to join basketball club, he didn't. Instead, he joined the Shogi Club. He would visit the basketball club from time to time and attend training though to ensure that his skills wouldn't rust throughout his stay in Seirin. It wasn't like the Shogi Club had anything major to do most days anyway.

But, there was just no way he was getting himself involved with Seirin in that kind of way –not when he's still affiliated with his Rakuzan Basketball Team. Not when he was the team captain of his own team.

As he was now, joining Seirin was pretty much as good as betraying Rakuzan –and Akashi might be bossy and scary, but he was not a traitor and his teammates and ex-teammates could attest to that.

* * *

Aside from school, it had also been three weeks, literally twenty-one days, since Akashi moved into Furihata's. The redhead wasn't going to deny it –the brunette had totally went beyond his expectations.

Compared to how he was at first, Furihata Kouki was _more_…

"Akashi-kun, dinner's ready!"

_Courageous?_

"I've also prepared your ketchup. You like ketchup in everything, right?"

_Comfortable?_

"Anyway, let's hurry up before the food gets cold. I'll wait for you at the table."

_Casual _–that's the word.

It's been _just _three weeks, and he already managed to get over his severe fright for him. Knowing the benched player, he calculated that it would take a _minimum _of _two months _before he actually reached this level of casualness and yet, there he was now, talking to him as if they actually grew up together.

'_Perhaps I really had pressed the right buttons there back in Yokohoma.' _Akashi thought to himself as he watched Furihata leave and shut the door.

Nevertheless,

'_How interesting.'_

–he found it interesting.

* * *

"Alright class, a quiz this about our discussion today tomorrow. You may now take your lunch." the teacher announced as he dismissed the class then left.

It was after then when Kuroko walked over to Akashi and casually hinted that he wanted to ask something of the redhead, "Akashi-kun, I didn't understand a single thing."

Akashi looked up to him. Picking up his hint, he sighed, "This is why I keep telling you to refrain from sleeping during class, Tetsuya. Anyhow," he glanced towards Furihata, "Furihata Kouki." he called.

Furihata jumped a bit. As comfortable as he had already grown towards Akashi, he couldn't help getting surprised at times whenever the other would call him. Nevertheless, he replied, "Y-yeah?"

"Tetsuya's coming over. Prepare supper for three." he ordered, then he turned back to Kuroko.

"Be at the house by six. You know I do not tolerate tardiness, Tetsuya."

* * *

Just as Akashi instructed, Kuroko arrived at exactly six. With an unexpected guest however.

At the doorway, Akashi stood from inside the house and ran his eyes through Kagami who was standing beside Kuroko at the doorstep.

"What is Kagami Taiga doing here?" Akashi asked, then turned to Kuroko.

At this point, Kagami began perspiring heavily. Subtly, he was whimpering. What he was about to do was embarrassing. What Kuroko had forced him to do was embarrassing. This was embarrassing.

"Kagami-kun couldn't understand anything either so I thought I'd bring him along." Kuroko replied, "In other words…"

"He could use some tutoring as well."

Akashi suddenly directed his look at Kagami. Again, he ran his eyes over him. Finally, after a few seconds, a smirk crawled Akashi's lips. Then he said, "Only if he says 'please'."

Figuratively, lightning struck Kagami, "W-What the…! As if I'd do something like that, short–"

"Kagami-kun," Kuroko intervened.

"If you fail this test, you do know that you will have to be kicked out of the club, right?"

Kagami flinched.

Akashi arched a brow, "Hmm, how interesting. What do you say about this, Kagami Taiga?" he mocked dryly.

Kagami began to shake. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"If I do what you asked me to do and have you tutor me, can I guarantee I'll pass that test?" he bitterly inquired.

Akashi grimaced, "Hmph. Are you questioning my ability, Kagami Taiga? My words are absolute –and so are my actions. I am absolute. _Everything _I do, therefore, is absolute."

"I-if that's the case then…"

Unwillingly, he said it, "P-please!"

"Please what?" Akashi taunted.

Kagami vein popped, "Don't make me say it again, you little shi–!"

"Don't expect you'll be setting foot on the court anytime soon then, Kagami-kun." Kuroko reminded.

And that was how Akashi scored against Kagami outside court since his transfer to Seirin.

"P-please enlighten me with your knowledge!"

Akashi smirked yet again.

"I thought you'd never _beg_."

On that moment, Kagami swore. He was so getting him for this.

* * *

"So you mean that the measurement of the intercepted arc is equal to the measurement of the central angle while the measurement of the intercepted arc is twice the measurement of the inscribed angle making the measurement of the inscribed angle half of the measurement of the intercepted arc?!" Kagami exclaimed in disbelief.

Akashi nodded, "Exactly."

For a split second, Kagami saw a ray of light shining directly at him. With eyes now sparkling, he clasped his hands together and intertwined his fingers, "Holy shit! It's that simple?! How come I didn't get that before?"

Kuroko rolled his eyes, "I told you, haven't I? Akashi-kun's the best."

It didn't take long before Kagami left his own little world and snapped back to reality. With a grin imprinted on his face, he turned to Akashi, "Looks like you're not so bad after all."

"I say the same goes for you. Perhaps because its because we share the same hair and eye color –red. It so just happens that I'm _bright_ and you're rather quite _dim_." Akashi implied _something_.

Kuroko, who managed to catch Akashi's implication, snickered.

"Don't your mean your color instead of 'you're–" halfway through his interrogation, he managed to figure out what Akashi was trying to imply. His vein popped.

"Oi! Don't sneak insults at me, asshole!" Kagami yelled, twitching.

"I'm not sneaking anything at you, Kagami Taiga. It just happens that you can't see anything coming because you're too dim." Akashi shot back, smirking.

If there was anything running through Akashi's mind right now, then that would be 'pay back, bitch'. Seirin's ace didn't actually expect him to just let his constant insulting regarding his height pass, did he?

Just then, Furihata joined them in the living room to announce, "Are you guys done? Dinner's ready!"

* * *

This was one of the things Akashi found interesting about Furihata. At first glance, you'd assume that he's someone who'd mess everything up and would blow the kitchen up when allowed to enter it. But no, Furihata was far from blowing the kitchen up. If the brunette had blown anything, then that would be none other than the minds of those who got to taste –or even just saw how he plated– his dishes.

It was simply _grand_.

"Itadakimasu."

As he thought, "You really aren't bad at this, Furihata Kouki."

Even though his mouth was full, Kagami couldn't help but to react at Akashi's statement, "W-whm-what do you m-mhmn-mean 'aren't b-mnhmn-bad'?! Furi totally owned this!"

Kuroko quietly agreed, "I never knew Furihata-kun could cook so well."

Furihata blushed at the comments. Shyly, he scratched the back of his head, "Uhh, well, ehm, thanks." he sincerely and humbly accepted.

And that was another thing Akashi found interesting about Furihata.

When you compliment him, he doesn't let it get to his head, but at the same time, it isn't brushed off and rendered insignificant. Rather, he lets it go to his heart and appreciate the effort of the person who gave it.

It was admirable how the brunette was able to pull off such stunt. When it comes to certain things, Furihata may not always accept –but one could be certain that whatever it was, it would be appreciated.

Indeed, he was interesting.

* * *

The dinner ended without any breakage despite Akashi and Kagami's bickering throughout the course of the meal –nothing serious, just a healthy and playful quarrel. After taking supper, Kuroko and Kagami had to leave. Akashi and Furihata accompanied them until they reached the front gate.

Leading were Furihata and Kagami, and behind them were Akashi and Kuroko.

As Furihata worked on opening the gate, Kagami whispered to him something.

"You know, Akashi isn't actually so bad."

For a moment, Furihata's ears flickered, "Eh?"

"I think he's actually a nice guy. But don't you dare tell him I told you this, Furi! Do you fucking understand!?"

The brunette squeaked a little, "Y-yes!"

* * *

Concurrently, with Akashi and Kuroko, they had a conversation of their own as well. It was Kuroko who initiated it, "Akashi-kun," he started.

Akashi turned to him.

"Furihata-kun is a good guy. He might not have any special ability but don't look down on him." the bluenette said, looking quite nonchalant. But Akashi knew best that even though Kuroko looked like this, he actually cares.

The redhead turned his gaze ahead, "You don't need to tell me this, Tetsuya."

A simple "Okay" was Kuroko's reply.

* * *

Soon after, Furihata was able to open the gate and the duo took their exit.

After the figures of Kagami and Kuroko disappeared from their sight, the future stepbrothers made their way back to the house. As they did, Akashi couldn't help but to steal a glance at Furihata.

'_Tetsuya, he shouldn't have bothered.' _thinking this, he glanced away.

'_I already know that this boy is someone who isn't supposed to be looked down upon to.'_

Furihata Kouki.

Despite his dull appearance, somehow, he managed to _slightly _catch the interest of Akashi Seijuurou –_the _Akashi Seijuurou.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I'm like totally almost there. Just a little more push and a few more nights (withAkash–) /shot/. Haha– just kidding.

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	8. Furihata Kouki

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

***note:**( Revised – Rewritten: 03/26/2014)

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 8**: Furihata Kouki

* * *

Weeks had passed since Akashi moved into their residence. At first, Furihata wasn't going to lie about it, he was definitely against it. In fact, he detested the mere idea so much that it came to a point wherein he began questioning everything –from his birth, how he had lived until now and how he was fated to die. For quite some time, he actually believed he wasn't going to make it but then, he remembered.

He didn't want to be weak anymore. And maybe this was just destiny trying to help him achieve his goal.

Since that realization at Yokohama, he saw life in a brighter light. He also started seeing Akashi differently.

From a hurdle to overcome to someone whose company he grew to actually enjoy –that's the transition of his impression of Akashi. It wasn't anything seriously special –scenarios like this happened everyday, just to different people. But it was something, or at least that's how he felt.

In the end, he got the conclusion that Akashi was in fact a nice guy.

To be quite honest, he even thought he was admirable.

Indeed, Furihata saw Akashi that way now –nice, cool and admirable.

Still scary though.

* * *

Today was the day the class would see their results on the test that Akashi had tutored Kuroko and Kagami for a few days ago. From the moment the teacher pulled out the stack of papers, among all the people in the classroom at that time, the most nervous of them all was Kagami. Meanwhile, as expected, the most collected was Akashi. He was a genius after all, what was there to worry about?

Just as everyone predicted, "For the first time in my entire life teaching in this school, **finally**, someone aced my test. A perfect 100. Let us give a hand of applause to none other than our lovely transfer student, Akashi Seijuurou. Here's your test paper, genius."

Being called to collect his paper, Akashi stood up and walked to his paper. The girls in the class squealed while the boys buzzed. He was popular alright.

"Aside from Akashi-kun, there's also another student I'd like to congratulate." the teacher grinned and pulled a paper out from the stack.

"Congratulations to Kagami Taiga. This is your first line of nine, boy. Congratulations on your 97. Keep up the good work."

Hearing this, Kagami's eyes widened in disbelief. Hesitantly, he walked over to the teacher's table, snatched the paper from the teacher's hand and stared at the score written at the upper right hand corner of the paper.

In red ink, ever so big, there written a 97.

"H-holy shit." he stammered.

"Holy shit!" he yelled this time.

"Holy fucking shi–" he was cut off by the teacher whacking him on the head.

Twitching, the teacher reminded, "Oi. That's quite enough cursing for today, Kagami."

Feeling the pain of his teacher's whacking and seeing that the 97 still had not disappeared even after, his eyes gleamed in happiness, "I'm not dreaming! I actually got a 97!"

And so, just like that, Kagami Taiga retreated to his own little world.

Kuroko only rolled his eyes at this.

Meanwhile as Kagami paraded his 97, Akashi stared blankly at his 100.

What was the fuss about? It was just a 100.

Spacing out, he was snapped back to reality by a congratulations from Furihata, "Akashi-kun," the brunette quietly called out.

"Congratulations. Let's eat out later to celebrate!"

For the first time, Furihata offered him a smile –an actual non-nervous smile.

"Don't worry, the bill's on me."

And somewhat, it triggered a feeling that was 100% foreign to him.

'_What's this? I actually feel… happy?'_

* * *

Classes has ended before they could notice it. And before he knew it, there they were. Furihata had actually _dragged _him somewhere. He didn't beg. He didn't plead. He didn't request. He just dragged Akashi there, at the small ramen stall they were currently at. It surprised the redhead; he wasn't going to deny that.

"Furihata Kouki, what do you think are you doing bringing me here without my permission?" Akashi questioned, arching a brow.

Unusually, the brunette totally ignored his question. Instead of giving him a proper like he usually does, he turned to him with a small smile and began blabbing, "It's really good here! Say, just order anything you want, okay, Akashi-kun? The bill is totally on me! Let's relax and celeb–"

"Furihata Kouki." Akashi firmly cut off. He wanted an answer so he needed to receive one.

Having been cut off, Furihata flinched. He wasn't planning on telling Akashi, but knowing the other, if he didn't speak up, things will just end up in a mess. Believing that he had no other choice, he heaved a sigh.

"I'm sorry." he started.

After pausing for a moment, he continued, "It's just that, earlier, after you got your test paper, you looked quite… uhm… blank, I guess? I figured… uhm… that you didn't… well… I didn't figure anything to be honest. I couldn't tell what was running in your mind. But all I knew is that I didn't want you to look like that. It's sad seeing the person you look up to look a little bit down. Ehehehe. I'm sorry." finishing off with a sorry, he ended his speech with an apologetic smile.

It was then Akashi had felt that feeling again.

'_Honestly, what is this?' _he mentally snarled. It was annoying –so annoying because it felt so good and yet so temporary.

Hoping to distract himself and somehow not enjoying the fact that Furihata was looking so goddamn depressed, Akashi snorted, "I find your reasoning legit, that's why…"

Furihata's face lightened up.

Akashi, after glancing at Furihata, continued, "Let me have a bowl of shōyu ramen."

After hearing Akashi's order, Furihata beamed, "Alright then! Mister, two bowls of shōyu ramen please!"

* * *

It didn't take thirty minutes before both their orders arrived. Akashi wasn't going to deny it; he was impressed by the speed of their service. In restaurants, orders like these took a minimum of half an hour. The quality though, how would it be?

Mentally asking, he pulled his chopsticks apart. Quietly, he muttered, "Itadikmasu."

After doing so, he took his first slurp.

His eyes widened.

"This is… absolute."

Furihata who noticed his reaction chuckled, "It tastes good, doesn't it?" he rhetorically asked, then took a slurp of his own.

As the duo ate their portion, Furihata initiated a conversation, "Akashi-kun," he started.

"Mhmm?" Akashi hummed nonchalantly, unable to speak as his mouth was full.

"I think you should enjoy your victory more." Furihata casually continued.

As if he had heard the question Akashi had in his mind earlier, the brunette quoted, "My dad once told me: 'Successes, and even failures, should be celebrated equally, Kouki! It's true that anyone can achieve what you achieved, but not everyone can achieve it the way you achieved it. Whether it was a success or a failure, remember, only you could have achieved it in that fashion.' It was only now I came to understand those words. I hope they'll manage to lighten you up too, if not today, then at least someday."

Saying so, he smiled at Akashi again.

Akashi looked away. He stared at the remaining noodles left in his bowl, then at his reflection in the soup. It was only after a while that he gave Furihata a reaction, "Your father sounds like a decent man."

He snorted a bit before continuing, "My mother advised me the same thing over and over again: 'Seijuurou, keep it together. Become stronger. Aim higher. Be the winner.' Honestly, I still don't understand. I'm just doing it the way I know it."

Furihata glanced at Akashi, "I don't know, Akashi-kun. But I think that your mother seems like a figurative person. Maybe you should take her words… uhmm… less literally? I don't know! But then hey, you're doing a good job." he laughed sheepishly.

Akashi leaned his back on the backrest of the chair. Slightly looking up, he murmured, "Maybe."

"Anyway, thank you for your concern. Try not to get used to dragging me around though, because if you do, I _will drag you around_. Literally."

Furihata flinched, "Y-yes!" he immediately replied.

"I-I'm sorry! S-shall we head h-home now?"

"Yeah. I'm tired."

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

3 more chapters– Oh yeah–

I have to say though, I'm still trying to figure out how I'm supposed to invoke fluff scenes without making either or both of them appear OOC in one way or another so I apologize for the possible OOCness in this chapter. /sigh/

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	9. Through the Night

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

***note:**( Revised – Rewritten: 03/26/2014)

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 9**: Through the Night

* * *

Classes had just ended. There were no cub activities, and so, as a result, Furihata and Akashi walked home together. As always, no conversation struck up between the two. Both had something occupying their minds as they traveled from school back to their house. While Furihata was busy thinking about what to prepare for dinner, Akashi was preoccupied thinking about Furihata –he liked thinking about Furihata; he was interesting.

As their quiet journey continued, it was after they had passed a group of young teenage girls around their age talking that Akashi noticed that something suddenly changed about his brunette companion. If he was able to time correctly, from a pretty decent one, the brunette's composure suddenly dropped to zero after one of the girls said, "Oh yeah! Sayaka, isn't there going to be a storm tonight? It would be dangerous for you to be alone. Why don't you stay over at Yuuka's house? Her brother, that hottie's going to be there–"

Was able to take note of this, Akashi started analyzing which part of the girl's statement may have caused the sudden alteration in Furihata's behavior. Was it the storm? Or could it be that he knew one of the those girls and finds it disappointing that they found whoever's brother was that a 'hottie'?

Not really the type to just settle for assumptions, he decided to ask his companion straight on, "Furihata Kouki, do you by any chance know any of those girls?"

Akashi couldn't explain it, but there was a sudden nasty taste the exploded in his mouth after asking and assuming that Furihata actually _liked a_ny of those girls –or anyone at all. Unable to tell what it was and deciding that it wasn't as important as the brunette's answer, he set the thought aside and pushed through with his question, "Furihata Kouki, don't make me repeat myself again."

It was at that time when Akashi realized that Furihata had began spacing out, "Hah? Ahh! Uhmm, s-sorry! Uhh, no. I don't know them. Why? Are you interested in any of them, Akashi-kun?" he suddenly rambled.

Surely, immediately, Akashi felt a sense of relief upon knowing that the Seirin player was not interested in any of those people, but he couldn't help but to frown. Somewhat, it annoyed him how carefree was Furihata about him liking any of those girls. He didn't know why, but he actually wanted Furihata to be the very least disappointed when asking him such question.

Nevertheless, "I'm not." he honestly snarled, only answering the brunette's last question.

"Anyway," the topic about them liking anyone somewhat annoyed him, so smoothly, he diverted their discussion to another topic, "have you already decided what we're having for dinner?"

Furihata jumped a bit. This increased Akashi's suspicion that indeed something was going on.

"U-uhh, well, I was thinking. I-if we shopped for ingredients at this time, w-we would be caught in the storm so… uhm… maybe we should just order a takeout o-or, we c-can just go with the leftovers y-yesterday." he stammered.

The storm, Furihata said.

That was when it hit Akashi.

"Furihata Kouki, don't tell me you're afraid of a little storm?"

This earned him a twitch from Furihata.

'_Bullseye.'_

* * *

During that walk, Akashi learned that Furihata was indeed afraid of storms. His confession went along the line, 'Yeah, I am. Can we not push it though and just go home?'

Having Furihata imply so, the redhead knew better than to insist for further information. It was already something that he actually confessed.

Arriving home, the two settled for the leftovers –which, in Akashi's opinion, were even more delicious than it was before, and peacefully had their supper.

Finishing, Furihata, as always, took care of the dishes and Akashi, after stealing a glance at Furihata, retreated to his room to read. Hearing footsteps approach the stairs and a door slam close a few minutes later, he assumed that his stepbrother-to-be had isolated himself in his room. Oddly though, since then, he didn't hear anything else come from outside. Usually, he'd hear scribbling of pen, tapping of table and at times, the music player on speakers. But today, all he heard was dead air.

Somewhat, that bugged him.

'_Furihata Kouki, what are you up to?'_

* * *

It didn't take too long before it began to rain ferociously. Minutes after, lightning began to strike and thunder roared. Akashi was kind of expecting he'd hear Furihata whimper. To be honest, he also thought the brunette would suddenly come bursting in his room and ask him to stay over. But none of those happened.

No whimpering and no bursting happened.

The silence went on.

And so, Akashi assumed that Furihata didn't actually have it that bad.

It wasn't until later did he began to think that Furihata may actually be having it so bad that he couldn't even do any of those. Yes, that actually didn't cross his mind, not until he received a text message from his future stepmother and was struck up in a conversation with her:

[ _Seijuurou-kun, this is Keiko. Are you with Kouki right now? If yes, then where are you two right now? If no, then where are you and where is he? _]

( _He's in his room. I'm in mine. _)

[ _I see. Can you please check on him right now? I heard that a storm is going to hit Tokyo tonight. He reacts terribly at storms, so I'm worried. I've been trying to contact him but he wouldn't answer his phone. Please update me as soon as you can. If he's having panic attacks, just pat him on the head. Thank you very much. _]

Reading the latest message from Keiko, Akashi fidgeted a bit.

Panic attacks?

Just exactly how bad is the situation with Furihata?

Putting his book and phone aside, he walked to Furihata's room, from the door, he informed, "Furihata Kouki, your mother messaged me. Why aren't you picking up her calls?"

There was no reply.

"I'm coming in."

Saying so, Akashi reached for the knob and opened the door. Pushing the door and welcoming himself in Furihata's territory, he called for his name as he ran his eyes all over the place to detect where Furihata was, "Furiha–", only to be cut off midway by the sight of the brunette hiding at the corner of his room, wrapped in a cushiony blanket.

Although completely covered by the blanket, it was quite obvious that he was shaking underneath as it could clearly be seem from outside.

Akashi flinched. This scene, it was almost like those scenes in those manga his father keeps in his personal bookshelf. Really wasn't the type who's all in for fluffy moments, at first, he commanded in a threatening voice, "Furihata Kouki, get out of that blanket now and be a man. Don't make _me_ _get you out_, because I can assure you, it will not be pretty."

He was answered by silence. It ticked him off.

"You dare defy me?" he pushed on.

Again, no response.

That was it.

In an irritated manner, he stomped his way to where Furihata was. Forcibly, he grabbed onto the blanket and detached it from the brunette. Just as he thought, sitting in fetal position, not making any other movement aside from his trembling, there he was, petrified yet shaking, Furihata Kouki.

God, just look at the boy. He couldn't even look up to him.

A sigh passed by Akashi's lips, "Were you planning on hiding there the whole time?"

The brunette remained passive.

He scooted to the level of the brunette and stared at him.

It was then when the advice Keiko left him flashed in his mind, [ _If he's having panic attacks, just pat him on the head. _]

Was this Furihata having a panic attack?

Akashi's gaze softened, "You," he whispered gently.

Slowly, he raised his arm and rested his hand on top of the brunette's head, "You're troublesome."

Saying so, he began gently stroking Furihata's hair.

As if it was some kind of magic charm, Akashi finally felt a movement from Furihata. And before he knew it, they were already looking each other in the eyes.

'_This feeling…again.' _Akashi thought, not removing his hand on top of Furihata's head and not shunning his gaze away from his.

With slightly watering eyes, Furihata muttered his name, "A-Akashi-kun?"

Just then, the loudest thunder roared and the brightest lightning struck. The sudden boom and flash sent Furihata's heart racing and his body launching itself towards Akashi.

The next thing Akashi knew, they were lying on the wooden floor of Furihata's room, with Furihata's face buried on his chest, his arms tightly wrapped around Akashi's waist upward and his body on top of his.

"A-Akashi-kun…" Furihata breathed.

"P-please. S-stay with me."

Akashi stared at him. Slightly arching his brow, he questioned "Are you ordering me?"

Another thunder roared. Furihata's embrace only got tighter, "P-please. A-Akashi-kun."

Akashi sighed. Dragging his arm up, he allowed his hand to rest on top of Furihata's head. Softly running his fingers through the brunette's hair, he grunted in defeat, "Just this once. Do you hear me?"

"I'll spoil you just this once, Kouki."

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. :))

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	10. Budding Affections

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

***note:**( Revised – Rewritten: 03/26/2014)

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 10**: Budding Affections

* * *

Waking up the next morning and finding himself in that kind of position with Akashi on the floor, Furihata couldn't have felt more anxious in his life. The first thing he did was to free Akashi from his grasp, get himself off the redhead and carry the other up his bed. After having done so, he contemplated whether to run away while he could or just accept the execution that awaits him upon the awakening of Akashi.

In the end, he decided to just accept the 'execution', and found himself cooking breakfast.

It didn't take a while before Akashi woke up himself to the smell of Furihata's cooking.

"Kouki, what are you cooking?" suddenly at the kitchen, asked Akashi.

"I'm cooki– Akashi-kun!" Furihata, realizing that it was Akashi, jumped.

Akashi raised a brow, "What are you being so jittery about?"

"U-uhm, y-you j-just called me 'K-Ko-Kouki'." he stuttered.

"Don't I always?" Akashi coolly replied then began walking closer to the cooking area.

"Wi-without t-the l-last n-name." Furihata continued.

Plainly, Akashi shot back, "It's easier. Anyway, the eggs are going to burn if you don't start paying attention to it."

"A-Ahmm, sorry." apologizing, Furihata turned the stove off and began transferring the food.

After plating them, he served them on the table and took a seat. Akashi sat across him as always.

"Itadakimasu."

And for quite some time, the two were silent, until, Furihata finally brought it up.

"A-About last night, I-I'm sorry! I-I'm really sorry! I-it w-won't h-happen a-again." suddenly, he got up from his chair and bowed as deeply as he could.

"You should be. You were troublesome." casually, Akashi replied.

Furihata remained bowing. He was expecting for something –a smack, a threat, a warning. He was expecting for something unpleasant, but what he got instead was a short-lived pat on the head.

"Don't make it a habit to cook first before taking a bath. It's a bad practice that will cost you a lot in the future. Anyway, prepare yourself for school. I'll bath ahead so the interval between your cooking and bathing can be longer."

Reminding the brunette so, Akashi walked off.

For some reasons, right after that, Furihata felt his face get hot and his chest pound. It was though electricity ran through his veins along with his blood. He felt as if he was being slightly electrocuted, at the same time, crushed from with in. His knees weakened and before he knew it, his whole body was jelly.

'_W-what j-just happened?'_

* * *

From the moment they got out of the house till the time they arrived school, Furihata found himself stealing glances at Akashi from time to time. He didn't know why, but, it was as if his eyes were just attached to the redhead. It was though as if…

It was as if they needed to see him or else they'll go crazy and pop out.

In addition to his eyes, his heart was also acting irregularly. Whenever he couldn't see Akashi –even just a glimpse of him, it beat oddly slow, like lonely slow. However, whenever he would see Akashi, hear his voice and would be touched by the redhead for whatever reason, it was a riot. It was like there was a mini marching band in his chest. But all the same, he felt 'connected', whatever that's supposed to mean.

It was annoying.

It was confusing.

And yet, it felt so good that he didn't know whether he liked it or disliked it.

Good in such way that he found himself feeling inspired, empowered and such.

'_W-what is t-this feeling?'_

And just when he thought the feeling could probably be just gratitude or embarrassment, and just when he thought it'd disappear overnight –it didn't.

* * *

Weeks passed and feeling remained –in fact, it intensified, to the point that merely brushing shoulders with his stepbrother-to-be would send him blushing then and there. It was terrible –most especially during times when Akashi mistakes his blushes for fever. Whenever he would check his temperature with his forehead, or even just his palm.

It was detestable. And yet, it was… so satisfying.

* * *

"Akashi-kun, I didn't understand a thing."

It was just like a replay of last week's turn of events.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Tetsuya: Refrain from sleeping during classes. Nevertheless, be at the house by five." suddenly, Akashi turned to Furihata, "Kouki, Tetsuya's coming over. Make dinner for four."

Furihata felt a fluttery feeling in his chest. This wasn't funny at all. Ever since that night, he would feel unreasonably happy whenever Akashi would call him. Shaking his head a bit, he nodded, "O-okay."

Kuroko who heard Akashi's request tilted his head, "For four?"

Akashi snorted, "I'm quite certain that you're going to bring _someone_ again just like the last time." he glanced at Kagami.

"O-oi!"

* * *

Just as Akashi anticipated, Kuroko did bring Kagami just like last time. Unlike last time though, no argument happened at the doorway and they were able to proceed with the discussion sooner.

"Damn, you really are good at this, aren't you?" Kagami couldn't help but to comment at Akashi's teaching ability.

Akashi didn't even spare him a glance. Right out, he just answered, "I'm good at everything."

His vein popped, "Arrogant little bastard."

Coolly, Akashi shot back, "Oh, pardon me. I don't speak gorilla."

Again, tension surfaced between the two –it was a battle between red and red.

"Everyone, dinner's ready!" a cold war that was temporarily put to an end by Furihata's warm food.

* * *

As Kagami gobbled up on his portion, he couldn't help but to comment, "Man! Isn't this just like the perfect household or something? Just imagine, if Akashi and Furihata actually got married and had a child, their child's like the luckiest kid alive or something. I mean, c'mon, the kid gets to get good education and eat great food!"

Kuroko, thinking about it, couldn't keep his thoughts to himself, "Yes. I agree with Kagami-kun. Akashi-kun and Furihata-kun would make a good couple."

Akashi choked slightly, but Furihata –he showered rice all over the place, there was even a grain that exited through his nostril. Having done so, all eyes turned to him.

"Kouki, you're showing symptoms of fever again."

Feeling Akashi's palm on his forehead, Furihata totally lost it.

Shoving Akashi's hand away, he immediately got up form his chair, "E-excuse me! I- I need to use the bathroom!"

Kagami and Kuroko glanced at each other significantly.

* * *

After all the ruckus, now in his room, Furihata buried his face on his pillow.

'_W-what's happening to me?'_

He wanted to know what's driving him to act this way, but at the same time, there was a part of him that didn't.

'_I can't actually be…'_

His face reddened, including his ears.

'_N-no. No. Impossible!'_

* * *

Meanwhile, on their way home, the light and shadow duo were struck up in a conversation.

"Kagami-kun, am I the only who thinks…" Kuroko trailed off.

"That Furi has hots for Akashi? No. You're not alone, Kuroko"

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note: **

I'm not really sure anymore whether I'm doing it right or not, so if you find anything that you feel isn't 'right' just tell me and I'll go over it. Honestly, I'm clueless. I'm trying something different from usual (or at least that's how I feel), so… I really have no other way of knowing whether I'm doing okay or not. I mean, it's my first AkaFuri fanfic and both Akashi and Furihata didn't really make much appearances until later on in the series so I find it a bit hard to understand their personalities. ; A ; It's tough.

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	11. The Person Furihata Likes

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

***note:** If you are an old reader, please be notified that the fanfic has been revised / rewritten. Major changes have been made, therefore, kindly start from chapter 1 all over again. Sorry for the inconvenience –thank you.

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 11**: The Person Furihata Likes

* * *

At the beginning, everything about Akashi intimidated Furihata. Whenever he would see, or even just hear the other's voice, it would automatically send him a feeling of anxiety wherein at times, he couldn't move, speak or even breath. Ever since then, Akashi already had a chaotic effect onto him –but that was it. That was the end to it. Chaotic.

The chaotic feelings Akashi's presence invoked in him then didn't include a feeling of satisfaction, empowerment, inspiration, happiness and safety. It didn't include the want to see Akashi, the need to be with Akashi and any blushing. Sure, he would feel flustered and his heart would begin to pound –but it never came to a point when in he felt as though the pounding in his heart was going to break him. It never came to a point when in despite feeling it would break him, he actually felt good.

It never came to a point when in he had to look at himself in the mirror every morning and tell himself, "Furihata Kouki, you do not like Akashi Seijuurou."

It never came to that point –not until now.

The feeling Akashi stirred in him –the feeling that used to be simply chaotic had now turned into complicatedly chaotic.

The feeing he would get whenever Akashi was there since that night, it wasn't just a chaotic feeling.

It was a paradoxical feeling –a feeling that brought chaos, and yet at the same time, comfort to his being.

"W-Wait, what?!"

Indeed.

Liking someone had always been confusing.

* * *

From the moment he considered that he actually liked Akashi, Furihata immediately rejected the idea. First of all, Akashi was a guy and he was also a guy –they were both guys. Don't get him wrong, it wasn't that he had anything against those kind of stuff or something, it was that, the last time he checked, he was _straight_. So it's just impossible. Secondly, Akashi and he were going to be family soon. If he actually liked him that way, then that'll only cause everyone trouble. Lastly, it was Akashi. He didn't stand a chance.

He was just going to hurt himself.

But then without those factors, would he acknowledge the idea that he liked Akashi in a romantic fashion?

Having faced with this question, the brunette found himself distracting himself. He didn't want to know. He didn't want to answer.

Because if by any chance, the answer was yes –then there was no doubt about it: He liked him. And he didn't want that.

* * *

Furihata exasperatingly slammed his head on the desk. He didn't like it at all how he was feeling for Akashi. Grunting bitterly, he lifted his head, snatched his cell phone from a certain distance and put its internet features to use. Opening his browser, in the search bar, he keyed in, 'How to stop liking someone?' and began browsing through the results he got.

As he did so, suddenly, from behind the door a person demanded, "Kouki, I want food."

Immediately, recognizing this voice and knowing what is to follow, Furihata gasped a bit. Out of shock, he lost grasp of his phone and, funny enough, it slid –right in front of Akashi.

Having entered the room, Akashi, feeling something hit his feet, looked down.

It was Furihata's cell phone.

Seeing that Akashi was just about to pick it up, Furihata yelled, "N-NO!" and attempted to race Akashi to it.

Successfully, his hand managed to reach his phone before Akashi's; however, it didn't prevent Akashi from seeing what he was searching about at all.

'… '_How to stop liking someone'? Kouki likes someone?'_

There it goes again, the nasty feeling.

Akashi snorted, "Whatever. Just go get me food."

Soon after saying so, the redhead casually walked off.

'_Why do I feel like… eliminating someone?'_

* * *

The next day, during basketball training, Akashi dropped by.

"Tetsuya," he started, having found the almost invisible boy within the crowd.

"Akashi-kun, are you here for Furihata-kun?" almost immediately, Kuroko asked.

Akashi glanced away, "No. I came here to talk with you. Tetsuya, I'd like to talk with you in private."

Although the expression in Kuroko's face didn't change, it was pretty obvious that he showed interest in what Akashi came there for to talk with him about. Without further ado, he put the ball he was holding aside and responded, "Please follow me."

* * *

The phantom man lead his former captain to a remote area around the basketball gym. Having done so, he inquired, "So, what is it that you want to talk about, Akashi-kun?"

Akashi frowned a bit, "It's about Kouki."

Kuroko's eyes sparked with interest, "Is that so? What about him?"

"Does he…" Akashi paused.

"Does he what?"

"Does he have someone he likes?"

* * *

Kuroko was outright amused. Everything was just all too unexpected. First, he observed that Furihata had developed a crush towards Akashi, and then now, _this_. Inwardly, the ex-sixth phantom man of Teiko smirked at his ex-captain.

This was just priceless.

In his usual calm tone, he teased, "And what if he does?"

Kuroko saw the muscles on Akashi's face suddenly tensing up after what he had said. Damn, this was fun.

"Who is it?" straightforwardly, Akashi asked right after.

"Why are you interested, Akashi-kun? Do you by any chance _like _Furihata-kun?"

"No." was the redhead's straight away answer.

Kuroko rolled his eyes –this was going to be troublesome.

"Look Akashi-kun, I don't know why you're asking me this. As much as I'd love to tell you though, I'd like to respect Furihata-kun's privacy. But since you've really helped me a lot, I'll give you a hint. How's that? You're a genius. I'm pretty sure you'll guess who in no time." there was an invisible glint in Kuroko's eyes.

"Sounds fair enough."

Hearing Akashi say so, although he looked the same, his inward smirk widened.

* * *

Returning to the basketball gym, Kuroko immediately sought for Kagami. Finding him, he called out, "Kagami-kun, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Kagami wiped his sweat off and walked over to Kuroko, "What do you want to talk about? And, why did Akashi call for you earlier?"

Kuroko's expression remained the same, "It's actually about that…"

"Kagami-kun, I may have ended you up in Akashi's list of the people he wants dead."

Kagami's eye twitched, "Whaaat!? Kuroko, what did you do!?"

* * *

"_Well then, here's the hint. He's currently studying at Seirin, belongs to a basketball club and…"_

_Akashi arched a brow._

"_He has red hair."_

* * *

"I think Akashi-kun may have misheard the '_a'_ for _'the'_and thought that the person Furihata-kun likes is from the Seirin Basketball Club."

"**Kuroko, you idiot!"**

* * *

'_So the person Kouki likes is Kagami Taiga huh…' _

Akashi began to release dark aura.

'_I see he likes his men… tall.'_

Even so, he wasn't going to lose –he wasn't planning to lose.

Just when he thought about it, suddenly, it struck him.

'_But what exactly… am I fighting for?'_

It wasn't like he liked Kouki, was it?

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

[ ***note: **In case you missed the note above: The fanfic has been revised. Please start again from chapter 1. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you. ]

I do not have the slightest clue whether I did it right, but I hope I did. Anyway, phew. I finally caught up. For a moment there, I thought I was never going to be able to finish this. I'm sorry if the quality isn't consistent. Ahuhuhu–

Anyway, I'm sorry for troubling all of you –it was just that, I really didn't know what to write next anymore after chapter 10 of the old version, but I didn't want to drop the story so yeah. I'm really sorry.

Before I end this author's note, I would just like to thank everyone –everyone who helped me make it through this hurdle. Haha– Thank you for all the support, suggestions and comments (opinions, compliments and criticisms). Thank you very much.

Damn, I'm beat. Haha–

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	12. Unwarranted Emotions

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 12: **Unwarranted Emotions

* * *

Perspiring heavily and with an eye twitching, Kagami awkwardly leaned towards Kuroko's side. Furtively, pretending to clear his throat, he murmured to his partner, "K-Kuroko… _it's _getting awkward". After saying so, he mustered his strength to steal a glance at the person who has been staring –more like glaring– at him for the past few hours. Much to his dismay, _he _was still glaring _at him_. Catching a glimpse of this, immediately, he returned his gaze to the blue haired boy sitting beside him.

In his usual tone wearing his usual expression, without even bothering to look at Kagami, Kuroko replied, "You should be glad that he's _just_ glaring at you, Kagami-kun. Believe me. Akashi-kun can definitely shoot you down if he wants to."

For a moment, Kagami froze, "T-that's not reassuring at all, Kuroko! And to think that this is all your fault…!" he managed to gasp out.

Kuroko blessed Kagami with one of his rare smiles, "Don't worry, Kagami-kun. I'll…"

Just when Kagami thought there was really nothing to worry, Kuroko's expression returned to how it usually was and he continued:

"…make sure to write a decent eulogy for your funeral."

Kagami mentally shrieked, _'He threw me away!'_

* * *

Akashi didn't understand the feeling he was holding against Kagami as of the moment. Why was he feeling this way? Again, it wasn't like he liked Furihata, so why was he reacting this violently? Finally, much to Kagami's relief, he removed his gaze from Kagami, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Feelings –they always have been so confusing. That's why he never liked dealing with them.

* * *

From his peripheral vision, Furihata caught a glimpse of Akashi rubbing his temples. Almost immediately, the feeling of worry built up in his chest. Without thinking it through, which would what he would have done first if something like this happened then, he scooted closer to Akashi and murmured, "Akashi-kun, are you okay?"

Akashi, having heard this, glanced at Furihata. As if examining him, he ran his eyes through the boy carefully before replying. "I'll be fine." he said. What a lie, really. He knew that he'll never be fine, not until he figured everything out.

Much to his surprise, as if reading through him, before retreating back to his proper position, Furihata mumbled, "I-I know t-that I d-don't look all th-that tough, b-but i-if there's anything bothering you, y-you can trust me."

After saying so, Furihata, having retreat back to his proper position, heaved out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Akashi, after hearing Furihata say so, felt something in his chest. It was fluttery, fluffy and sweet –so girly that it made him want to throw up at the same time, made him want to jump out of the window and fly.

He shook his head slightly –in spite of the lightness of the intensity of his shake, it was easy to tell that he was going through something problematic. Grunting, he attempted to get his head back to the discussion, only to find himself thinking, _'I know I can trust you; however,'_

'_What if the problem is you?'_

And from that point onward, Akashi began to consider that the problem may not be Kagami, but Furihata –or rather, the feelings Furihata managed to awaken in him. To be quite truthful, he was also starting to consider that the problem may be neither Kagami nor Furihata, rather…

Himself.

* * *

Jealousy –finally, Akashi was able to perceive the name of the feeling Furihata managed to summon in him. It was jealousy. He was jealous –jealous of the girls he thought the brunette liked and jealous of Kagami Taiga who he believes is the current object of affection of his stepbrother. He was jealous of them and somewhat…

Desire –another thing Furihata was able to ignite within Akashi. He desired the attention of the brunette –all of it.

Having realized this, he snickered proudly as he boiled the broth. (He volunteered to make tonight's supper with the intention to show off his cooking, thinking he might not be able to win against Kagami in terms of height but the cooking –the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.)

Ahh, there's this just one itsy-bitsy inconsistency, shall he call it, though.

Jealousy, desire and his want to show off –somehow, they all point out to one thing.

'_Doesn't this mean that…' _he flinched.

'_I like Kouki?'_

* * *

The thought played in his mind over and over again: 'I like Kouki', 'I like Kouki', 'I like Kouki'…

As his mind replayed the sentence over and over again, he began stirring in the casserole vigorously.

'_It can't be. That's disgusting. Unacceptable. I– A disgrace.' _he mentally scorned.

Eventually, he began chopping on the ingredients with killing intent.

'_Falling in love is for the weak. Liking is a step to falling in love, therefore it is also for the weak. I am absolute, therefore strong, therefore love is not for me.'_

As he dropped the ingredients in proper sequence, Akashi's face darkened and he began to release dark aura.

'"_The way to a man's heart is through his stomach", what kind of bullshit am I thinking about? Why am I acting like a teenage weakling?'_

'_What am I being so touchy for?'_

* * *

"What's that sme–"

"Supper is ready."

"Uwaaah! They look incredible! Did you really make the–"

Seeing the food on the table, Furihata was about to go on praising Akashi only to be cut off halfway through his sentence by the dark aura surrounding the redhead.

"A-ahm… Akashi-kun, are you oka–"

"Not another word. Or I'll chop your tongue off. You've already caused me enough trouble". If he receives another gentle gesture from the brunette, he wasn't so sure anymore what's going to happen. And Akashi didn't like not being sure.

Furihata squeaked, "Y-ye-yes!"

'_W-what did I do? S-scary!'_

* * *

Since that night, it was as if everything they've been through for the past weeks had been wiped off from the face of the earth. The comfortable atmosphere they were able to build suddenly reverted back to the awkward one they had then. In fact, it was even worse, because unlike then, Akashi's intimidating him on purpose.

He wasn't just making up in his mind anymore; he thoroughly thought about it.

Furihata could tell, that this time, it wasn't just him pushing himself away from Akashi.

Akashi was pushing him away for real, intentionally.

In fact, he was almost completely certain.

'_He's avoiding me!'_

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note: **

Sorry if Akashi's quite OOC (and even Furihata).

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	13. Shocking Red

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 13: **Shocking Red

* * *

Furihata awakened to the sound of the alarm clock. Releasing a sigh, he lazily fumbled for the 'stop' button on his alarm clock, then got out of bed. Stepping out of his room, he headed to the dining room only to see it empty. No food on the table. No Akashi at the table. A downcast expression had befallen on his face.

'_He's really avoiding me, isn't he?'_

* * *

Arriving at his classroom, Furihata saw Akashi sitting on his chair quietly, reading a book. Seeing him there, the brunette recalled; it's been two weeks since Akashi began doing this. And it pained him. Just when he thought they were finally getting along, suddenly, the heterochromaniac decided to pull off something like this.

It was troublesome –emotionally troublesome.

* * *

Dismissal time came, and as practiced for the past days, Akashi went ahead. Walking back home alone, Furihata couldn't help but to contemplate.

'_Did I do something wrong? He could just tell me than do something like this!'_

His expression darkened. An achy feeling built up in his chest. It was as if his heart was being squeezed, so tightly, that the mere act of breathing became slightly painful. It was so painful that he would just want to drop dead.

Even though the feeling was consuming him, Furihata didn't stop walking. Passing by the convenience store, he caught a glimpse of him –Akashi. And just then, he had just exited the store and caught a glimpse of Furihata himself.

For a split second, their eyes met. After recognizing that it was Furihata however, Akashi immediately turned away and began walking off.

The action worsened the aching in the brunette's chest.

'_W-why…' _the question began to play in his mind.

For some reasons, his feet began moving on their own.

'_Why are you…'_

Furihata found himself running towards Akashi. And before he knew it, there he was, holding onto Akashi's wrist and there Akashi was, glaring at him.

Returning Akashi's glare, the question in his mind slipped right out of his tongue, "Why are you avoiding me?!"

Akashi hissed, "I do not owe you any explanation. Let go of me."

"J-just this once, I won't listen to Akashi-kun! I won't let go. It's true that you might not owe me any explanation, but, I **want** an explanation." was Furihata's immediate reply.

"You dare go against me?" he threatened, glare intensifying.

Furihata bit his lower lip. Having mustered his strength, he firmly answered, "Y-yes!"

* * *

Akashi wasn't going to deny it, Furihata's answer shocked him a bit. But it didn't change the fact that it somehow enraged him.

"You imbecile…" he murmured darkly.

With a shadowed expression, he pulled his wrist away from Furihata's grasp.

"Why are you so persistent?" he asked.

Too angered by the fact that he was defied, he was unable foresee what came next.

Tears –tears began dripping down from Furihata's eyes.

"Rather annoying, irritating or degrading… it hurts. It hurts to be ignored by Akashi-kun –to be ignored by someone that I like."

The shadow on Akashi's face disappeared, with shocked wide eyes, he found himself unable to say anything else but "You…"

* * *

Hearing Akashi fumble over his words, Furihata was snapped back to his usual self. Seeing the expression etched on Akashi's face and feeling tears run down his cheeks, he gasped, _'Oh shit! Did I just say what I think I said?'_

"Uhmm…uhmmm… I like you Akashi-kun of course! You're as good as a biological brother to me. I never had a brother before so it really hurts. I mean, uhm, if Kuroko-kun, Kagami-kun or any of my other friends would avoid me, I'd feel bad too, that's because I like Kuroko-kun too, as well as Kagami-kun and all of my friends!" Furihata immediately blabbed out, hoping that Akashi would overlook his confession.

"Uhhh, i-it's all familial affection! That's what family is for after all, right? To be there for one another, to love one another and to accept one another." Furihata pushed through with his rambling.

He pursed his lips. A blush spread across his face.

"Love." he whispered.

Whispering so, his heart began to race and his blush darkened.

Although he implied it's familial love, he was pretty sure it wasn't. From that point on, he came to accept, _'I'm starting to fall in love with Akashi-kun, aren't I?'_

* * *

'_Familial love –love for the family?'_

A shadowed expression cast down Akashi's face.

'_What I've been feeling up until now, it must have been that.' _he thought.

A sigh crossed his lips.

"Furihata Kouki, you're really troublesome."

Furihata twitched, "H-hah?"

"Shut up. Let's just go ho–"

All too suddenly, just when the problem was about to be resolved…

"Akashi-kun?"

Akashi felt a burning sensation in his chest, along with the sensation was tightening. His chest tightened and began to ache as well. Truth be told, the pain was so excruciating that it could not be put to words.

Due to the pain, the redhead lost his balance and fell. Fortunately, he landed in Furihata's arms.

"Akashi-kun! What's happening?"

"C–can't b–breathe. C –chest hurts. T–throat dry." he managed to gasp out.

"E-eh!? Akashi-kun, try to calm down. I'll bring you to the hospital."

Seeing that it was no time to panic, Furihata got himself a grip, carried Akashi on his back and began running off.

It didn't matter whether he was going to find a ride or was going to end up doing this by feet. At that time, the only thing that mattered to him was _'I have to bring Akashi-kun to a hospital.'_

"Akashi-kun, hang in there."

* * *

Akashi lied on the hospital bed unconscious with an oxygen mask on and several other equipments attached on his body. Furihata, on the other hand, sat on the chair next to his bed and held onto Akashi's hand.

It was like a déjà vu, except instead of his father, it was Akashi lying on the bed.

'_Is he also going to–' _he cut his own thoughts off.

Biting his lower lip, he mentally tried to enlighten himself, _'He won't! He definitely won't because he's Akashi Seijuurou. That's right. He won't lose because he's Akashi-kun. He can't.'_

"Akashi-kun, you can't lose, okay?" he whispered, still holding onto his future stepbrother's hand.

Just when he was about to get emotional again, suddenly, two familiar faces entered the room.

"Seijuurou!"

"Kouki, what happened?"

It was Keiko and Seiji.

"M-mom, S-seiji-san…" he muttered. Although surprised, he couldn't bring himself to react anymore. He was too worried.

"We were just walking when suddenly, he collapsed. Before passing out, he said something. He said he couldn't breathe. His chest hurt. His throat was dry. Mom, I–"

Keiko cut him off, "Shh, it's okay. Calm down, Kouki. Seijuurou-kun will be fine. Seiji, what do you have there?"

Glancing at Akashi's father, Furihata's chest throbbed. His eyes –those were the eyes of a desperate man.

"Keiko, he inherited it after all. Seijuurou inherited his mother's _illness_ after all." a downcast expression befallen Seiji's face.

"He's going to be taken away from me too."

Akashi had inherited the_ illness_ that killed his mother.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

No comment.

I apologize for the OOCness in this chapter. Thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	14. Plot Twist

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 14: **Plot Twist

* * *

With a dreadful look in his eyes, Seiji gaped at the scar that had suddenly appeared at the side of Akashi's neck. With a shadowed expression, he turned to Keiko and said, "It's the same scar. It came out later than it should have, but it came out anyway. He's going to be taken away from me soon, Keiko. He's going to be taken away from me just like how his mother was taken away from me by the same fate. I don't–"

Before he could finish his sentence, a handful of seaweed was shoved inside his mouth, "For the love of God, Seiji, shut up! Your son isn't going to die! We're not going to let him die!" Keiko snapped at him, "You've protected Kouki well. It's my turn to protect what is important to you. Calm down. We can shove death back at fate's ass. Get a grip."

* * *

The things that were spurring out from his mother's and Akashi's father's mouth –Furihata didn't understand a thing. What scar? What protection? He felt so confused, at the same time, left out. He wanted to get involved too. Not just for the sake of being involved but because he wanted to help Akashi –as a friend, as a brother, as someone who likes him _a lot_.

Despite the questions running through his head and the anxiety building up in him, he frowned and butted in, "E-excuse me… uhm… m-mom, S-seiji-san… I- I don't get what you're talking about at all, b-but i-if there's anything I c-can do t-to help, p-please, please tell me. Y-you d-don't h-have to g-get into t-the details if you d-don't want to, b-but I wa-want to do w-what I- I can d-do, i-if there's an-anything."

It didn't matter whether they would tell him what's happening. It didn't matter whether they'd allow him to get as involved as they are, but, he wanted to be of use –even if not to his parents, but even to Akashi at least.

It was okay even if he didn't understand; he just wanted to be of help.

* * *

Keiko was trying to enlighten Seiji when Furihata had suddenly said what he had said. Glancing at his son, she heaved a sigh. Removing her hand from her fiancé's shoulder, she walked over to Furihata and patted him on the head.

"You've grown strong, Kouki." she praised with a reassuring smile on her face.

Pulling her hand away from his head, she replied to her son's request, "I'll tell you soon, what's going on. You'll be playing a big part in it after all. Right now isn't the time and this isn't the place where I should orient you with the truth however, dear. I hope you understand."

She gave him an apologetic smile.

Just shortly after, her phone rang. Picking up the call, her smile faltered and was replaced by a serious expression, "Is that so? Alright, thank you for informing me."

Hanging up, she turned to her fiancé, "Seiji, I just got a call from _the doctor_. He wants to see us. He said he got tracks. He _found something out_."

Seiji's expression lightened. The hope in his eyes returned.

"I told you Seijuurou's not going to die."

* * *

Right after that conversation, the couple left the hospital and left Furihata in charge of watching over Akashi.

Sitting on the visitor's chair, he began to space out and found himself pondering over what could it possibly be his mother and stepdad were talking about. As he did, it came back to him.

'_A scar…?' _he remembered Seiji's words.

Remembering so, he got up from his seat and walked to where Seiji was standing when he said so. From that perspective, he examined Akashi. It didn't take him too long to see what his stepfather was talking about. His eyes widened.

'_W-what the–' _

'_When did this get here?' _he couldn't help but question.

It certainly not there before, that scar. Furihata was a hundred percent sure –and if Akashi had gotten it while he was carrying him on his back, then it shouldn't be looking like this already given the time that had elapsed. It should still be fresh.

Staring at it more, he was beginning to assume, "It's almost as if it was a wound from inside." he thought out loud.

Saying so, he drew his hand and was about to caress it gently for better understanding when a spark had ignited the moment his hand made contact to the scar.

The unexpected and out of this world reaction sent the brunette falling aback and landing on the floor on his butt. Glancing at his hand then at Akashi's neck in disbelief, he gulped heavily.

'_W-was t-that just e-electric s-spark j-just n-now?'_ he mentally stuttered.

As he gazed at his hand in astonishment, suddenly, he heard a crackling sound come from Akashi's direction. Immediately turning his eyes to where he believed the sound originated from, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened even more upon seeing red and gold electric sparks seep out the scar and brown electric spark fight the two other colors back in.

Watching in amazement, his attention was diverted to his own hand upon hearing a crackle from the direction where he left it suspended. A gasp escaped his mouth upon seeing it leak out brown electric sparks.

It didn't hurt, but it was just not normal.

"W-what the heck…?" he couldn't bring himself to say anything else.

Shortly after, the electric sparks on both Akashi's scar and on his hand disappeared. Just then, he heard a groan. Turning to Akashi, he noticed the sudden flinch of Akashi's hand and the fluttering of his eyes. Assuming that he had awakened, out of worry, Furihata picked himself up, stood up and rushed to Akashi's side only to something that surprised him yet again, "Akashi-kun, are you oka–"

Akashi's eyes met his.

"Kouki, what happened?"

Furihata suppressed a gasp.

"Kouki? Furihata Kouki, is there anything wrong?" Akashi asked, frowning a bit.

Not answering Akashi, Furihata fished his phone out from his pocket and called his mom.

[ "Kouki, is everything alri–" ]

"Mom, something batshit crazy just happened and now Akashi-kun's awake. I happen to be staring at him right now in the eyes and well, I just noticed that his other eye isn't gold anymore and both his eyes are red now. What do I do?" he asked as if what was happening was just another daily occurrence.

[ "Something batshit crazy happened and now he's awake and both his eyes are– **what?! **Kouki, what are you talking about? Kouki, what happened? Kouki! Kouki! Hello! Kouki, mom and Seiji are coming! Stay calm!" –beep– ]

After Keiko had hung up, Furihata put his phone back in his pocket.

"Akashi-kun, can you please excuse me for a moment? I just need to check whether I pissed my pants or not."

Something was terribly not right.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

To the old readers, if you can still remember, I pitched in some KHR characters then. I didn't just put them there because I missed KHR. It was supposedly for this reason, but then I realized not everyone is familiar of KHR –added up to my list of reasons as to why I should rewrite the story. Fufu––

I hope this turns out just fine. Haha–

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	15. False Alarm

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 15: **False Alarm

* * *

Furihata's eyes snapped wide open accompanied by a gasp. Baths with Akashi? What the hell? Sweating quite much and breathing pretty heavily, it was only after looking around did he realize that something was terribly out of order.

"I'm…" he sat up, "At home?"

That was right. He was at home –at the Furihata residence. But, just a while ago, wasn't he at the hospital?

As questions piled up in his mind, a familiar voice had greeted him, "Hmph. I see that you're awake now, Kouki."

It was Akashi –and his other eye was gold again.

"Akashi-kun, your other eye is gold again!" he exclaimed, and out of curiosity, pounced on Akashi.

The sudden attack caused both of them to fall on the floor in, what one may call, an awkward position, with Akashi's back flat on the ground and Furihata's body on top of Akashi.

The first one to recover and notice what kind of position where they in was Akashi. Realizing how close they were, and feeling a certain sensation in his chest after the realization, immediately, he questioned then demanded, "What do you think are you doing? Get off this very instant."

Much to Akashi's dismay, Furihata still had not realized his effect on him –that was a good thing, but at the same time a bad thing. Aside from that, it seemed like the brunette had also yet to realize the gravity of their position. Instead of getting himself off the redhead, what he did instead was crawl even closer to him, and before Akashi could say anything else, Furihata was already straddling him.

Akashi's mind had went blank. This was bad. At this rate, he was going to–

All of a sudden, Furihata dramatically decreased the gap between their faces. With both of the brunette's hands cupping his cheeks, in such way that he couldn't turn away, Furihata looked him in the eyes with so much confusion and curiosity.

"Akashi-kun, your eye is gold again." Furihata stated again in a whisper.

Akashi felt the brunette's breath on his lips. He felt his heart rate increase.

"What are you talking about, Furihata Kouki? It's been like that since sometime in middle school and had not been anything else since then." he was seriously trying to cover up the tension building up inside of him, and he could say, he was doing a pretty good job.

Much to his relief, finally, Furihata let his face go and pulled his face away from him. He was still straddling him though. He looked even more confused than before, but who cares, at least he wasn't so close anymore. Just when he thought he could finally relax a little, the brunette had stroked the side of his neck.

Almost immediately, his body tensed up.

"What do you think are you doing?" he growled.

Surprisingly unaffected by the aura his stepbrother was beginning to release, Furihata casually pulled his hand away from his neck.

"There's no scar. Does this mean you're not going to die anymore?" Furihata thought out loud.

Akashi flinched, "I don't know what you're talking about, Furihata Kouki, but I do not have any scars and I am not going to die. Now, before _somebody_ actually dies –or rather gets killed, I suggest you get off me. If you insist on straddling me, then start saying your prayers. Besides, I do not want to hear something about me dying from someone who suddenly passed out in front of a convenience store because of anemia." he darted, glaring at the brunette.

"Passed out? Convenience store? Anemia?" Furihata was clueless.

Akashi rolled his eyes, "Don't tell me you don't remember."

Furihata scratched his head, indicating that he indeed could not remember.

Akashi snorted.

* * *

"_Furihata Kouki, you're really troublesome." Akashi said._

"_H-hah?"_

_Akashi had looked away then. It was probably during that moment when Furihata had began feeling a bit weird. By the time Akashi had looked back to him, it was then when he probably felt his consciousness deteriorate._

"_Shut up and let's go ho–"_

_And just when Akashi was about to finish his sentence, Furihata passed out._

* * *

"W-what? That's what happened?" Furihata couldn't believe what he had just heard from Akashi.

Akashi let out a nod, "I carried you back here and called one of our doctors. According to him, you had anemia."

Anemia huh. Furihata looked up and scratched the side of his cheek, "Kinda think of it, I wasn't able to eat and sleep much lately."

"But it was because Akashi-kun was being terribly cold to me that I couldn't!" he froze upon realizing what he had just said.

For some reason, Akashi felt flattered. Not that he would admit it. So in order to mask it, he decided to go for a taunt, "What are you, some kind of lovesick teenager?" he looked away snobbishly.

After seconds of not receiving a reply, he decided to turn his gaze back to the brunette.

His heart made a loud thump.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" he managed to keep his cools and say what he had said with a straight face.

Blushing furiously, Furihata jolted, immediately turned his gaze away and got off Akashi, "I-I'm s-so-sorry. I…uhh…I need to talk with my mom."

Saying so, the brunette grabbed his phone and rushed out of the room.

Left all alone, Akashi merely sat there, listening and feeling his heartbeat.

'_That Furihata Kouki… is bad for my health.'_

* * *

Locking himself up in the bathroom, Furihata clutched his cell phone near his chest, _'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…'_

'_That was so stupid. I'm so stupid. At this rate, he might find out that I... like him!'_

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

And so it ended, the first week of April –the April Fools' Week. Haha–

I bet I had everyone into it, haven't I? I was even able to connect it with the KHR characters. Fufu– /yes, I'm 50% shit, I know/I love April.

Anyway, here ends my fooling around. Next chapter, let's explore Akashi-kun's feelings. Fufu– Sorry 'bout the OOCness. Hehe.

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward for the next chapter. See ya.


	16. Beyond Understanding

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 16: **Beyond Understanding

* * *

A brother. He knew they've already discussed this –somehow, but if that was how Akashi saw Furihata then why, why does the brunette's lips tempt him? Why does he want to pin him down on a goddamn bed and do xxx to him? Why does the thought of Furihata liking someone else aside from himself piss him off? Why does the thought of Furihata liking, or being in love with him, flatter him? _Why did he kiss him?_

Staring at Furihata through the perimeters of his eyes as he unconsciously frantically clicked on his pen, yesterday's turn of events during the time when Furihata was unconscious played in his mind.

* * *

"_Furihata Kouki, you really are troublesome."_

_Furihata twitched, "H-hah?"_

"_Shut up. Let's just go ho–"_

Without any warning, before Akashi could finish his sentence, Furihata had collapsed. Fortunately, the brunette landed right in his arms.

"Kouki–"

"Mhmm… Akashi-kun…"

'_He passed out?'_

A sigh crossed Akashi's lips. With care, he carried Furihata on his back and began walking home.

'_How troublesome.'_

* * *

Arriving home, Akashi entered the house. After locking the door from the inside, he gently placed Furihata by the entrance, removed his shoes as well as Furihata's and placed both of them on the rack. Having done so, he carried Furihata once more, but this time, bridal style and brought the brunette to his room.

Placing him on his bed, he was about to head out when he felt something tug on his sleeve followed by an "Akashi-kun… mnnmm… you can't lose, mnmm'kay?"

After that, Furihata's grip loosened and his hand slipped away from Akashi's arm. He began snoring right after.

Akashi's brows raised, _'What is he talking about?'_

Although curious, he decided that this wasn't the time to laze around and try figuring out what Furihata's dream was about. Furihata passed out after all. If there was anything he had to know at that time, then that would be what may have triggered the sudden loss of consciousness. He had to call a doctor.

Fishing his phone out from his pocket, he dialed a number. Receiving a respond from the other line, he immediately began, "This is Seijuurou. I'd like to call for a doctor. Can you send me one as soon as possible? Currently, I'm in Tokyo and my exact location is…"

After providing the other party with the necessary information and being assured that a doctor will attend to him immediately, Akashi hanged up. He was about to head out when he glanced at Furihata for supposedly the last time just to check on him. For some reason, after that, he found himself unable to take his eyes away from the brunette. Worse, he couldn't take another step farther away from him.

Before he knew it, he was already back beside him, staring at his lips and wondering if they're as sweet as the words that come out from them.

Akashi's brain had short circuited. For the first time in his life since he can remember, he totally lost control. The next thing he knew, his lips were already rested on top of Furihata's lips. Realizing this, his heart began pounding loudly. It pounded so loudly that for a second, he actually thought he was going to break into pieces. In spite of the threatening feeling, he found himself unable to pull away and pressing deeper. Just as he thought, they were as gentle as his voice, warm like his smiles and sweet as the words that he says.

It was addicting. So addicting that he repeated several times only to stop upon finding himself pinning the unconscious brunette on the bed and realizing what he was doing –and was trying to get at.

He turned his head away in disgust.

'_What am I doing?'_

* * *

Indeed.

'_What was I doing?'_

Akashi stopped clicking his pen, but was still spacing out. His awareness didn't return until Furihata had snapped him out of it, "Akashi-kun!" the brunette exclaimed in a whisper.

Akashi turned completely to him, "What is it, Kouki?" as if nothing happened, he asked.

Furihata, after seeing that he had won Akashi's attention, turned away, scribbled something on a page of his notebook, tore the page off, folded it and handed it to Akashi.

A bit dazed, hesitantly, although not showing, Akashi took the paper and unfolded it.

[ _I'm sorry. I was just a bit worried. You were spacing out and seemed troubled. It was unusual of you to click your pen. I mean, I heard that it's a sign of anxiety and well… Akashi-kun and anxiety just don't go well together. (– A –);; After all. Akashi-kun is __**absolute**__. ( ,,o A o,, ) _]

Akashi stifled a chuckle. The content of the paper, the emojis –they were _cute _(because Furihata wrote them). The intention of the writer, however, invoked _those feelings_ again. His heart pounded lightly but memorably and he felt a chaotic type of calmness.

'…'

He clenched on the paper. With a dreadful expression on, he grew to realize, _'I like him, don't I?'_

"Akashi-ku–"

To confirm his hypothesis, Akashi decided to do a little experiment.

"Seijuurou." he cut Furihata off.

"Eh?"

Akashi glanced at Furihata, "I just thought you should start getting used to calling me by my given name. After all, I'd rather not have my brother calling me 'Akashi-kun'."

In reality, he just wanted to know how it'd feel to be called by Furihata by his first name.

"A-Ahm… uhhh…" Furihata began blushing.

Akashi merely glanced at him.

"S-Seijuurou-kun…" finally, the brunette was able to say.

The sound of Furihata's voice saying his name lingered in Akashi's ears. He liked the feeling. He liked it so much that he wanted to hear it again. His chest tightened.

It wasn't him to feign ignorance, but who cares. He wanted to hear his name come out of the brunette's mouth once more, "What was that again?"

"S-Seijuurou-kun!" Furihata repeated, a little louder this time.

Akashi could have sworn that his knees went jelly there.

'_This is bad. I thought I was going to hate it but…'_

The dreadful expression returned to his face.

He liked it, his name being called by Furihata –a little bit too much.

* * *

In front of the redhead and the brunette were Kuroko and Kagami, stealthily listening to the conversation of the two.

Scooting closer to Kuroko, Kagami whispered, "Hey Kuroko, Akashi totally did that on purpose, didn't he? Making Furihata say his name."

Nonchalantly, Kuroko teased, "Please call me Tetsuya from now on, Taiga-kun."

Kagami choked a bit, "W-what!?" he spluttered.

"I'm sorry. I just felt like mocking Akashi-kun and making fun of you, Kagami-kun." Kuroko dismissed.

"Anyway, yes. It was on purpose. By now, Akashi-kun should have already realized that he likes Furihata-kun." Kuroko went back on topic.

A bit bitter towards Kuroko, Kagami glared at him a bit, "Geez…" he sighed, "Anyway, so does that mean they'll start going out soon or something?"

There was a glint in Kuroko's eyes. He had a bad feeling about this.

Soon, Kuroko began talking, "No. Akashi-kun may have realized, but, I don't think he'll accept his feelings so easily. Plus, we're not sure if Furihata-kun had realized his feelings yet."

Just when Kagami thought that the bad feeling was just his imaginations, Kuroko proved him just exactly the opposite.

"That's where we come in, Kagami-kun. That's where we come in."

Kagami had a really terrible feeling about this.

"Y-you're not going to use me again as bait, are you, Kuroko?"

Kuroko glanced at him significantly.

Silence...

–Meant yes.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Sorry 'bout that guys. Haha– I promise I won't do it again. Fufu–

Mhmm… a spin-off about that huh (the dream)… sounds interesting. I think I might just make one. I'll make it KHR AU though so I wouldn't need to make OCs (plus, it'd be more interesting with Gokudera ther– /slapped). /lazy bum Gokudera fan girl here/ Fufu–

Anyway. Advance happy AkaFuri day (4/12), everyone. Thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See ya.


	17. Shadow and Light

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 17: **Shadow and Light

* * *

It was supposedly just another day for Kagami Taiga –supposedly, until his partner in crime, Kuroko Tetsuya, had decided yesterday to scheme against his former team captain and use him as bait. He wanted to argue, honestly. He wanted to protest, definitely. But, he could still remember the words that came out of Kuroko's mouth when he tried, _"Please don't make me introduce you to #2's __**friends**__,_ _Kagami-kun."_

Remembering the bluenette's words, he twitched, _'K-Kuroko, you bastard!'_

"What do I even get out of this!?" he couldn't help but vocalize that one.

Kuroko turned to him. With a straight face and in a nonchalant tone, he jokingly answered in a serious manner, "You get to go out with me."

The statement earned a blush from Kagami, "W-what?!" he spluttered, "H-h-how i-is t-that e-even a r-reward?"

Kuroko sourly turned away, "I am offended, Kagami-kun." he verbalized dryly.

"W-whose f-fault do you think is it!?" the burgundy haired tall lad snarled, faintly flushed red.

Just when Kuroko was about to shoot back a remark, through his peripherals, he spotted Akashi and Furihata enter the classroom. Confirming it's them through thorough staring, he placed a hand on Kagami's shoulder.

"Wha–"

Kuroko cut him off, "They're here." he pointed at the targets.

Kagami glanced at the direction where Kuroko was pointing at.

"Kagami-kun, now's your chance. Remember: _body contact_."

Kagami gulped, "Alright."

Standing up, he was about to launch himself towards Furihata when Kuroko grabbed his wrist, "Kagami-kun," the bluenette called.

The burgundy head turned to Kuroko with a look of confusion on his face.

A shadowed expression cast down on Kuroko's face.

"Farewell."

Kagami flinched. Freeing his wrist from Kuroko's grasp, he exclaimed in a whisper, "I'm not going to die, you asshole!"

He turned his back from the shorter boy, "I'm not planning to until I win and enjoy my reward."

Saying so, his ears turned red.

Having heard of Kagami's statement and noticing his blush, Kuroko snorted in amusement, "I'll expect your return then, Kagami-kun."

"Y-you b-better be ready to receive the best love in the whole universe by then, Kuroko!"

And with that, Kagami took off –much to Kuroko's amusement.

* * *

Love was for the weak but Akashi Seijuurou was not weak, therefore he refused to acknowledge that he was starting to fall in love –or rather, was already in love, with his stepbrother. He was aware that he was, but he refused to just accept that. He had resolved to get rid of the feeling; nothing was going to change his mind.

In fact, he had already come up with a strategy that doesn't involve avoiding the other, because the last time he did, it only lead to a confrontation –an unnecessary confrontation. It was troublesome.

'_Just let it pass. It'll rid of itself eventually.' _Akashi mentally chanted like a mantra. He had been doing this since he thought of it. So far, it was effective.

"Furihata!" suddenly, a voice cut off Akashi's mental chanting. It was Kagami's.

"Ahh, Kagami-ku–" Furihata wasn't able to finish his statement. Randomly yet casually, Kagami slung his arm around the shorter boy's back.

Stealing a glance at Kuroko, Kagami mentally took a deep breath. Intentionally increasing the volume of his voice so that Akashi could hear as well, he asked, "Say, are you going to do anything after classes?"

Furihata, oblivious, looked up for a while –giving it a thought.

"I don't think so." he mused.

"Great! You see, Kuroko has something he needs to do but I really want to go to the arcade because there's this really cute stuff toy I'd like to get. If I go tomorrow, it might already be gone. That'd be terrible. I really want to have it, you know." Kagami grumbled, arm now slung around Furihata's neck.

"I'm not really good with claw crane–"

"It doesn't matter! I just really want someone to accompany me. That's all. I thought I'd ask you instead of the others because you're my classmate and it's less of a hassle that way." Kagami muttered, "I'll treat you out after, swear! It's on me too, so it's fine even if you don't have budget for it!"

"Mhmm… okay then! Let me ask, Ak– Seijuurou-kun first though." Furihata casually moved Kagami's arm away from him then turned to Akashi.

"Aka– Seijuurou-kun, is it okay if I go with Kagami-kun after classes?"

* * *

'_Stay calm.' _Akashi told himself.

All that body contact, being so touchy with _his_ Furihata, that _fucking_ Kagami. It pissed him off. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd be tainting his father's name in doing so, he would have shot the burgundy haired boy then and there.

Amidst his still calm rage, he heard Furihata ask him.

Should he, or should he not let him?

'_We need space. This is the perfect time for me to contemplate and think of more ways to get rid of this nuisance.'_

Mentally nodding, he turned to Furihata. Nonchalantly, and somewhat unwillingly, he answered, "Do what you want. Why are you asking for my permission anyway? We're not even legitimate brothers yet."

Apologetically, Furihata smiled, "I-I'm sorry. I just… well, I didn't want you to worry."

Akashi felt his chest throb, _'This isn't good.'_

"Don't get too ahead of yourself. I have no time to worry about you or the likes of you."

No matter how he looked at it, Furihata was definitely his ideal lover.

* * *

Classes ended within a blink of an eye –or at least that's how it felt. Just as agreed, Furihata went with Kagami.

If Akashi Seijuurou was anything, he definitely wasn't a follower.

'… _What am I doing? This is absurd.'_

And yet, despite that, in spite of having said what he had said and deciding that it'd be best if Furihata had gone, there he was, stalking Kagami and Furihata on their _date_.

The thought of Kagami and Furihata on a date left a nasty taste in Akashi's mouth.

'_Disgusting.'_

* * *

On their way to the arcade, Kagami and Furihata casually chatted. Kagami didn't initiate any body contact since he didn't think Akashi would be there anyway. It was only after he received a text message from Kuroko, who was also stalking them, that Akashi was there that he started acting all affectionate towards Furihata.

Touch here, touch there, touching Furihata almost everywhere. Kagami was starting to get uncomfortable. Seriously, that Kuroko –asking this much from him.

Speaking of the bluenette, his phone flickered indicating that a message had arrived.

[ _I'm jealous, Kagami-kun. _]

Reading Kuroko's message, Kagami flinched and messaged back.

( _Don't joke around without any emoji, you bastard!_ )

[ _Ahh. I thought you'd take it seriously. Kagami-kun got me. _]

( _ARGGH. _)

* * *

_Too much body contact._

Akashi contemplated whether he should call an assassin now or kill Kagami himself with whatever it was that could kill.

'_Damn that Kagami Taiga…' _he mentally cursed, beginning to release dark aura.

He was at his wits' end.

And the fact that Furihata didn't seem to mind being touched by Kagami didn't help the situation one bit.

Suddenly, he remembered what Kuroko had told him.

'_Ahh, of course. He likes him, doesn't he?'_

For a moment, Akashi felt as if his insides were being twisted. Perhaps he should use it as cue to give up.

But what if Kagami knew this and had planned to take advantage of Furihata?

Akashi, at that moment, was pretty sure.

'_I'm just making things up because I don't want to give up, aren't I?'_

* * *

Arriving at the arcade, Kagami dragged Furihata at the claw machine. It was supposed to be a lie –him liking something from there. But after seeing a stuffed toy that look almost exactly like Kuroko, the lie had became the truth.

He was getting that thing even if it was the last thing he does.

* * *

An hour had passed and Kagami had yet to get the toy of his choice.

'_Shit. I didn't notice.'_

Sliding his hand in his pockets, he realized that he had run out of coins. His face dimmed.

Furihata, noticing this and miraculously finding a penny in his pocket, turned to Kagami.

"Ahhm, Kagami-kun, I'm not really good at this but is it okay if I try getting that toy for you? I have a penny here." he offered.

Desperately wanting that toy, he held Furihata's hand. Looking at him threateningly, he _corrected_ the brunette's statement, "No, Furihata. You can't just try. You _have _to get me that toy. **Please.**"

Furihata flinched. He felt bad for Kagami.

* * *

"W-woah! You actually got it in one try! That's so fucking cool!" Kagami yelled, staring at the miniature Kuroko look-alike in his hands in disbelief.

Furihata chuckled. Scratching the back of his head, he murmured, "Well, I guess I was just lucky–"

To show his gratitude, he raised his hand and patted Furihata's head. It was the first time Kagami had done that today.

"Thanks a lot, Furi!"

Furihata's eyes widened a bit at the gesture. It reminded him of Akashi.

"Y-you're welcome." he was able to stammer out.

* * *

Akashi eyes flared up with rage and his chest blazed in jealousy.

'_I…'_

He found himself walking towards the pair.

'_I'm the only one allowed to do that to Kouki.'_

"A– Seijuurou-ku–"

Before Furihata could finish his statement, a loud crash resonated in the arcade.

Akashi had slammed Kagami's head on the claw machine. And right after the burgundy haired boy had recovered from the crash, a punch from the redhead followed, sending him on the ground.

"Akashi-kun!" Furihata yelled and grabbed the heterochromiac's arm as firmly as he could.

Akashi glared at him. Without uttering a single word, he shook his arm away from the brunette's grasp and grabbed on the brunette's arm. Gripping on it tightly, he dragged him out of the arcade.

"A-Akashi-kun, it hurts!"

Ignoring all the protests and not loosening up a bit all the way, he had dragged Furihata back home.

* * *

After the disappearance of Furihata and Akashi, Kuroko had appeared and come to Kagami's aid. Assisting the other to stand up, he joked in his usual blank tone, "Aren't you glad you're alive, Kagami-kun?"

"The next time you try dragging me into one of your schemes, I'm going to make sure to remember this, Kuroko."

Kuroko snorted, "But doesn't it feel good, helping a friend?"

"With my head throbbing like this and my cheek all numb, I can't honestly tell..."

"Should I kiss the pain away then?"

"H-how can you s-s-say something s-s-so embarrassing w-w-with a straight f-face and c-cold t-tone, goddamn it!?"

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

The end is almost near. Fufu. (I'm not kidding.) I hope I manage to stick with my plan. Haha– Expect and angsty AkaFuri day for this fanfic. Ahuhuhu.

Before I end this author's note, I'd just like to endorse the spin-off (KHR AU) I've resolved to write based on Furihata's dream / my April Fools' prank. I'm probably going to publish it sometime right after I finish this. Please support it too. /slapped/ Imma start thinking of a title now. Fufu–

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See you.


	18. A Love Confession

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 18: **A Love Confession

* * *

Entering the Furihata residence, Akashi finally complied with Furihata's protests, released him from his grasp –practically throwing him in the house, and shut the door. Having locked the door, the redhead remained facing the door, unmoving and unspeaking. He had underestimated the feeling called love. If there was anything he learned today, then that would be love wasn't for the weak. Rather, love was strong –so strong that it made people weak.

* * *

As Akashi reflected upon his actions, Furihata picked himself up from the floor. Apparently, Akashi had released him pretty forcefully, enough to send him to the floor. Dusting his clothes, with bewildered eyes, he turned to Akashi.

"A-Akashi-kun?" he was able to stammer out.

Receiving no reply, he called out again, but this time, accompanied with a question, "Akashi-kun, are you okay?"

* * *

Saying terrible things to him, giving him the cold shoulders, getting in the way of his _love _and dragging him away and releasing him violently, in spite of all the things Akashi had done to Furihata intentionally and unintentionally out of pure stubbornness and selfishness, there he was, standing there right across of him, asking him if he's okay. Still as kind as always.

With heart pounding vigorously and ears projecting a light pink tint, he glanced at Furihata. Instead of angry, he seemed more of confused and worried.

Shunning his gaze away, he muttered lowly, "Kouki…"

"You're really troublesome."

* * *

Hearing what Akashi had said, Furihata twitched. Him? Troublesome?

"T-Th-That's not really something I'd like to hear from someone who slammed an innocent person's head on the glass of the claw crane machine and then charged the same person a punch soon after, you know." scratching the side of his cheek lightly, Furihata had protested.

Saying this, he was reminded of Kagami and thought of his welfare. Silently, he prayed that the burgundy haired lad was okay.

Sighing, he mumbled, "I mean… why did you even do that in the first place?"

"I know Akashi-kun now. I'm pretty sure you have your reasons, don't you?"

* * *

Furihata was level headed. He was the type of person who tried to understand the situation before giving his all out reaction. And that was one of the many things Akashi found attractive in Furihata. He admired how Furihata could be so _nice_ even after everything.

From that point on, Akashi began to accept that he was falling in love –falling in love with his stepbrother. But along with the acceptance of his feelings was the acceptance of something bitter, a something known as 'rejection'.

As Kuroko had implied, Furihata liked Kagami.

It's true that Akashi was willful, prideful and selfish most of the time, but when had he ever been his self since he began to realize that he was falling for Furihata anyway?

Finally, he turned to Furihata, "Tomorrow, send Kagami Taiga my apologies. How I acted was irrational. It was disgraceful."

* * *

Furihata blinked. Did Akashi just say what he thought he heard him say? Was he really asking him to send Kagami his apologies? If he hadn't known Akashi better, he'd say to apologize himself. But knowing Akashi, the fact that he actually even thought of apologizing –that was something new and something **big**.

Now, he was really worried.

"Akashi-kun, what's wro–" just when he was about to take the direct approach and ask the redhead what's wrong, he was interrupted by an embrace. He had no idea why but it gave off a lonely feel –a feel that penetrated his heart and got right through him.

His face flushed red and his heart thumped wildly. For some reasons, he couldn't feel his legs. To be honest, it wasn't just his legs. He couldn't feel anything at all –he couldn't feel anything else but the painful warmth of Akashi's arms, the lingering heat of the redhead's forehead on his shoulder, the abnormal beating of his heart and the hotness of his head.

Furihata Kouki was shaken –and he had never been as shaken in his entire life before.

It was a good yet painful type of shaken.

He was shaken by love.

* * *

From how he was leaning, Akashi could feel Furihata's heartbeat. Whether it was out of nervousness or disgust, he couldn't care less. He just felt quite blissful at the thought that he wasn't the only one whose heart was pounding –so loudly that it threatens to break him.

"Kouki…" he began.

Furihata gulped. He seemed to want to say something –or rather, anything, but it appears that the cat got his tongue.

Concluding this, Akashi continued, "I'll return you to him tomorrow, but for tonight –no, even just for a moment, let me own you."

He felt Furihata wheeze.

Finally, Akashi raised his head. After looking Furihata in the eyes, he closed his own, leaned forward, and without waiting for a reaction, pressed his lips against the brunette.

It was warmer. The lips of a conscious Furihata was far warmer than of the unconscious one's.

* * *

Furihata was thunderstruck.

Was he dreaming again? Did he pass out somewhere along the way?

He had no idea. All he knew was that Akashi had said something seriously crazy and was now kissing him.

A small squeak slipped out of lips after feeling Akashi's tongue invade his mouth.

'_Oh my god, this is seriously happening, isn't it?'_

Dumbfounded, Furihata found himself unable to move.

* * *

Taking Furihata's passiveness and unresponsiveness the wrong way, Akashi retreated his tongue back in his mouth and pulled away. Glancing at Furihata and seeing his expression, he sighed. He mustn't have liked it. Who would like to be kissed by someone you didn't like anyway?

Releasing the brunette from his embrace and looking a bit depressed, Akashi stated in a nonchalant tone, "I'd like to thank you for everything up until now. I've grown weak and got in your way, I apologize for that. I vow I won't bother you again. I shall be retreating back to my room now. Goodbye."

* * *

Akashi didn't sound well, that's what Furihata thought. Seeing the redhead retreat to his room, he wanted to stop him. He didn't want him to leave –not like that. Not with that expression. Not with such a disappointed back.

However, as much as he wanted to call out to him, as much as he wanted to run after him, he couldn't. He was drained. His brain had short circuited. And he couldn't find the strength to move or at least shout. It was all too sudden. The kiss, the…

Furihata wasn't stupid. It was obvious. After what happened, everything made perfect sense to him now. The feign annoyance, the cold shoulder, punching Kagami, kissing him… everything pieced together.

Akashi liked him.

He had nothing against that. He liked him too, but it was just all too… unexpected.

'_A-and here I thought I was the only one…'_

Apparently, things weren't as one-sided as he thought it was.

* * *

Soon after, Furihata had retreated to his room as well. He was a total mess. He tried to sleep it off but found himself unable to do so. He thought of going to Akashi's room but it seemed like a bad idea somehow. In attempt to distract himself from doing something reckless, at the same time wanting to know how Kagami was doing, he decided to drop Seirin's ace a call.

"Kagami-ku–"

[ "A-Ahh! K-Kuroko, it hurts!" ]

"…"

( "Mhmm, it's too tight." )

"…"

[ "Goddamn it, Kuroko! Is this your first time or something?!" ]

'…'

( "Yes, my first time doing this to someone so tall." )

[ "What does my height have anything to do with this!?" ]

( "It's difficult to reach you. Anyway, please stop moving so much. I'll try to be gentler." )

[ "…ARGH! FUCK YOU! THAT HURTS!" ]

( "Ahh, shall I kiss you to ease the pain then?" )

[ "D-DON'T SAY S-STUPID THINGS WI-WITH A STRAIGHT FACE– _beep_ –" ]

"…"

From that conversation, Furihata was able to conclude that Kagami was doing well –extremely well.

He was still unable to believe it though.

'_K-Kuroko-kun's t-topping?'_

* * *

At Kagami's house…

"Your phone is ringing. Shall I turn it off?" Kuroko asked.

Kagami snorted, "Yeah. I'd really rather not talk to anyone right now."

Receiving Kagami's permission, Kuroko turned down the call –or at least he thought he did. Apparently, he pressed the wrong button and unintentionally answered the call. After doing so, he set the phone aside and returned to Kagami.

"Ahh! Kuroko, it hurts!" Kagami whined as Kuroko redid his bandages.

After the encounter with Akashi, Kuroko had brought Kagami to the hospital. There, he was treated properly, but then on their way home, they came across a puppy that had somewhat grown attached to Kagami and began following him. Out of pure terror, Kagami began running which only triggered the puppy to run after him and well...

The outcome wasn't very good and resulted for Kagami's bandages to come off.

"Mhmm, it's too tight." he bluenette referred to how he tied the bandage.

"Goddamn it, Kuroko! Is this your first time or something?!" Kagami was referring to the bandaging.

"Yes, my first time doing this to someone so tall." Kuroko shot back, referring to the same thing as Kagami was referring to.

"What does my height have anything to do with this!?"

"It's difficult to reach you. Anyway, please stop moving so much. I'll try to be gentler." Kuroko referred to the bandaging.

Even though he said he would be gentler, he continued wrapping the bandage lousily.

"…ARGH! FUCK YOU! THAT HURTS!" Kagami groaned.

"Ahh, shall I kiss you to ease the pain then?" Kuroko teased in his usual blank tone and poker face

Kagami blushed at the statement. He knew Kuroko was just playing around but…

"D-DON'T SAY S-STUPID THINGS WI-WITH A STRAIGHT FACE, BASTARD!"

* * *

In the end, Furihata successfully managed not go to Akashi thanks to the disturbing conversation he had unintentionally overheard between Kagami and Kuroko. However, thanks to this, and the eventual return of his want to talk to Akashi, in the end, he failed to sleep and morning came with him getting zero rest.

It was a _goddamn_ blast.

Thank goodness it was a Saturday.

Looking up at his ceiling, with arms and legs spread across the bed, he closed his eyes.

'_This is no good. I can't sleep at all. Maybe I shouldn't have called Kagami-kun and just spoke to Akashi-kun after all.'_

He sighed.

Concluding that he won't be getting any sleep unless he faces off with the redhead, the brunette got out of bed. With dark rings underneath his eyes, he exited his room and stomped to Akashi's. Assuming that the redhead was already awake –since he usually is already awake around that time, he knocked.

"A-ahm… Akashi-kun, can I talk to you?"

There was no reply.

"Akashi-kun?"

Still no reply.

"Alright, I'm coming in."

* * *

Entering Akashi's room, Furihata was not prepared to see what he saw. Before his eyes was an empty room –a room that had no trace of Akashi or the fact that Akashi was once there. For a moment, it crossed Furihata's mind that Akashi might have ran away or something. He immediately dismissed the thought feeling that Akashi wasn't that type of person.

Leaving the room and closing the door, he headed to the kitchen only to see an envelope on the table.

It had 'Kouki' written at the back.

Recognizing the penmanship and realizing that it belonged to Akashi, immediately, he opened the letter and began reading.

* * *

[ _Kouki,_

_I am already back in Kyoto by the time you read this letter. I've contacted our people and it appears that the redecoration at my house is done and so I have decided to return. I am aware that I'm not supposed to return until the marriage, however, I'm afraid that if I stick around longer with you, I will only be getting in your way._

_I am aware of your feelings for Kagami Taiga. Just like all those who are in love, I'm sure you don't want to be away from him so don't worry, I've already contacted my father and told him not to transfer you to Rakuzan. I've mentioned nothing about who your love interest may be so be rest assured that everything will be fine and that your mother will not find out._

_Forget about what happened last night._

_Goodbye. _]

* * *

After finishing the letter, Furihata trembled slightly.

Where the fuck did Akashi get the idea that he liked Kagami? And…

"W-What's with people leaving me messages like this!?"

He was so bringing Akashi back, screw sleeping.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Okay, so that wasn't so angsty. Haha– My bad. Anyway, happy AkaFuri day (4/12), fellow fan girls. Damn, I'm beat. I've been taking this classes for the upcoming university entrance exams and, omfg, too much Math. Goodness. It's killing me.

Seeing at how things are flowing, I feel that this is going to end in two chapters at most. Hopefully, I'll be able to write the last chapter/s properly.

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See you.


	19. So Lost, Literally

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 19: **So Lost, Literally

* * *

After having drunk five cups of coffee and seven cans of soda, without bringing anything else but his wallet and phone, the next thing Furihata did right after was to board the first train to Kyoto. All throughout the travel time, the brunette didn't sleep at all –instead, he plotted ways on how he could get back on Akashi for doing something like _this _to him.

Not giving him a chance to explain himself and making him travel this far without sleep, Akashi was so going to get a taste of Furihata's wrath. That's one thing for sure.

* * *

Several hours passed and finally, Furihata reached his destination –Kyoto. Now, if he remembers correctly, from where he was standing, which was the train station, Akashi's house was just nearby –a walking distance, to be exact. Or at least that's what he could remember from the idle chats he and Akashi shared.

He fished his phone out from his pocket and was about to call his mother when–

'_You've got to be kidding me, of all the times, right now? Really?'_

His batteries were out.

Now, now…

How in the world was he going to find his way to Akashi's house now!?

* * *

Fortunately for Furihata, there was a telephone booth nearby and he had coin on him –just one, but that'd be enough.

Much to his dismay, however, he had not memorized her mother's new number, his stepfather's number and the telephone number of Akashi's house yet, therefore, still had no means to contact anyone who may actually know the redhead's address.

Frustrated, he clutched on the handset and slammed it back on its base.

If only any of the Seirin basketball team members knew of Akashi's address, after all, he had memorized all of his teammates contact information.

He let out a grunt and stared at his shadow–

_Wait…_

_Shadow?_

He gulped.

"Kuroko-kun…"

At that moment, he didn't care anymore. Let his brain be scarred deeper (let him run into Kuroko and Kagami doing stuffs again), but he made a vow. He was going to bring Akashi back and then sleep.

* * *

"Kuroko-ku–"

[ "Ergh, hello, who is this? Kuroko's still… errr… well… in dispose as of the moment. Wanna leave a message or something?" ]

Furihata flinched. The one who answered was Kagami.

'_T-they really did it huh…' _he thought, figuring that Kuroko stayed over at Kagami's place (or Kagami stayed over at Kuroko's) after _that _conversation.

"Uhh… Kagami-kun, I'm sorry for dis-disturbing both of you b-but, I really need to speak with Kuroko-kun. It's about Akashi. This is Furihata by the way."

* * *

At Kagami's house…

Because of Kuroko's lousiness at bandaging, the bluenette wound up staying over really late. Since it was a Friday night anyway, despite Kuroko's protests, Kagami insisted his shadow stayed over –the night was a dangerous time to be alone after all. He didn't want Kuroko to get mugged or anything on his way home just because he stayed over a little too late so that he could treat Kagami's bandages properly.

Kagami would go insane if something like that were to happen so he really insisted. In the end, he succeeded in persuading Kuroko to stay over at the expense of half of his bed.

The morning after that, Kuroko's phone rang.

"Nghhnn… oi, Kuroko, your phone's ringing." Kagami groaned, annoyed by the noise Kuroko's phone was making.

"Just turn it off, Kagami-kun." Kuroko nonchalantly muttered, still half-asleep.

"Wha' if 's 'mportant?" Kagami mumbled.

"Then answer it." Kuroko replied, turning his back from his phone.

Kagami grunted and answered the phone, "Ergh, hello, who is this? Kuroko's still… errr… well… in dispose as of the moment. Wanna leave a message or something?"

( "Uhh… Kagami-kun, I'm sorry for dis-disturbing both of you b-but, I really need to speak with Kuroko-kun. It's about Akashi. This is Furihata by the way." )

'_Furi about that psycho?' _Kagami thought.

He sat up and woke Kuroko up, "Oi, fucker, it's about your OTP. Wake up, goddamn it."

* * *

[ "Oi, fucker, it's about your OTP. Wake up, goddamn it." ]

Furihata heard.

'_F-fucker!? O-OTP? W-what's happening!?'_

( "Furihata-kun?" )

Finally, Kuroko picked up.

"Kuroko-kun! Thank goodness. Ahmm, Kuroko-kun, do you by any chance know what Akashi-kun's address is?"

He'd really rather have lived without knowing Kuroko and Kagami's affair, but he finally got to talk to his trump card.

( "Why?" )

Furihata hesitated. Should he tell Kuroko? Ahh, just a tidbit.

"Ahh, well, we had a misunderstanding and Akashi-kun ran away. I'm currently in Kyoto running after him. He left me a note saying he had returned to his home so yeah… If you don't know his address, can you contact someone who does? I'm really desperate. My phone's dead." he explained.

There was a pause on the other line.

A few seconds later, sound returned.

( "Is that so? Well then, I'll message it to you–" )

"Wait! My phone's dea–"

( " –beep– " )

"…"

Furihata stared at the handset.

It didn't matter, he could just have his bills changed to coins.

He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and opened it. His jaw dropped in horror.

"N-NO WAY!"

Apparently, he wasn't just out of battery –it appears that he had been to sleepy to notice that he was also out of money.

Now, now… just how the hell was he going to go on now?

He slammed the handset again back to its base.

"Akashi… Akashi…" he grudgingly chanted.

"Akashi, you are so going to pay for this!"

He knew he was at fault for not double checking, but why the hell would he even need to double check if that moron of a redhead didn't suddenly run away and leave him a seriously lame letter?

That Akashi, he better be ready, because Furihata was so taking him back and shove his love in the redhead's throat.

* * *

Consciousness slowly slipping away and was at the verge of falling asleep, suddenly, Akashi sneezed.

'_Does a broken heart include colds?' _he thought lamely and attempted to fall asleep once more.

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Arghhhh… sorry. I may have forgotten how to write. This is just sad. I won't be putting up the next chapter till I remember because I really want to write the last chapter properly. :)) /spoiled brat, ahuhuhu/

Anyway, thank you for reading up until now. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next chapter. Until then. See you.


	20. Caught

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 20: **Caught

* * *

After five hours of aimlessly walking and running around Kyoto without any sleep and asking strangers for directions, finally, Furihata Kouki reached the Akashi residence. It appeared that there were a lot of facilities around the area that had 'Akashi' on their name or as name –most of them belonging to his stepfather, but none of the people actually knowing where their boss's house was.

Truth be told, it wasn't till he ran into the Hayama Koutarou and Mayuzumi Chihiro who were eating at this sushi bar and asked directions from them was he able to get to Akashi's place. Although they were scary on the court, they were unbelievable nice and even accompanied him to the exact address.

"Yep. So this is Akashi's house." Hayama proclaimed, eyeing the huge wooden gate before them.

Furihata choked a bit. All this time, he thought Akashi's house was a huge western-looking one –but it seemed that he had mistaken. It was far from western-looking. It was one of those seriously big traditional Japanese houses, the ones wherein only seriously rich Japanese people live in –the ones with lengthy hallways, wide corridors, tatami rooms, a garden, a pond and such –or at least that was how it seemed like, judging the house by its gate and front. He could be wrong.

As he ran his eyes through the gates and walls of the house, Hayama pressed a button located somewhere near the gate and a few inches away from the edge of the wall. It appeared that it was the doorbell –but it wasn't just an ordinary doorbell, it was those doorbell answering machine.

[ "State your name, relationship with any of the Akashi's and purpose for coming. Introduce your acquaintances as well and their reason for tagging along." ] the question played in the speaker.

"Hayama Kotarou, Akashi Seijuurou's teammate from Rakuzan High School. I'm here to… make a _delivery_. Heh. I'm with Mayuzumi Chihiro, Akashi's teammate from Rakuzan High School as well –he's just tagging along– and Furihata Kouki, a soon to be member of the Akashi family. I think he's Akashi's future stepbrother. Anyway, he's from Seirin and wishes to visit his future home." Hayama explained in a casual voice.

[ "Ah! A Furihata, you say? _Hey, Ootsuba, what's the name of Keiko-dono's son?_" ] the man from the other line began discussing things with probably another man.

( _"It's K–" _)

Furihata butted in their conversation, "A-ahm, I'm Furihata Kouki, Furihata Keiko's son. I'm here for Ak– Seijuurou. Is he there?"

[ "Ahh Kouki-sama! We truly apologize, but for security purposes, we need you to face the camera just so we could verify if it really is you. Currently, we are holding pictures of you given by Keiko-dono. We will be asking you to do several poses, those of which matches with your poses in these pictures." ]

'_W-when did my mom–' _he mentally sighed.

"Okay."

Saying so, he proceeded to the camera just right next to the answering machine, "I'm here." he said, getting there.

[ "Alright, then please…" ]

He was asked to bow a little, then was asked to face left, then right, then lastly, to just face the camera normally.

After a minute, the gates were opened and they were welcomed by eight men in black and two ladies around their early twenties.

"Welcome, Hayama-san, Mayuzumi-san and Kouki-sama." the two ladies greeted politely.

After their greeting, the men bowed, "Welcome, Kouki-sama!" and greeted Furihata themselves –only Furihata though.

After the warm welcome from the Akashi's people, Hayama pat Furihata on the back, "Alright! Delivery made. Go make up with him! Haha~"

Mayuzumi snorted, "I think what Hayama wants to say is 'make out'. Hn." he snickered at the end of his sentence. It didn't show much in his face, but his gesture clearly showed that he was teasing.

Furihata glanced at Mayuzumi awkwardly.

He was just Kuroko –a poker faced devil who had features of an angel.

"Alright, we'll go ahead then! C'mon Mayuzumi, I still want to go to that ramen shop!" Hayama clung onto Mayuzumi's arm and began dragging him away.

"You pig." Mayuzumi snorted, but allowed to Hayama to drag him anyway.

For a moment, Furihata stared at them. They kind of reminded him of Kuroko and Kagami. Then something hit him, _'A-are they going out too!?'_

With jaw slightly hanging, he glanced at their figures. He thought of gaping longer but remembered –he had a mission.

"Oh yeah… that's right." he muttered to himself.

He turned to the women, nervously he requested politely, "A-ahm, I… uhh… Can you please lead me to Seijuurou's room?"

The women maintained their expressions, "Very well then. Please follow us, Kouki-sama."

The gates closed and the women walked ahead. Furihata followed.

* * *

Reaching Akashi's room, Furihata bowed at the women, "Uhmm, thank you. I… errr… uhm… I'll take it from here." he tried to not sound too arrogant. He didn't know why, but he just had a feeling that if he didn't say, or at least imply, for them to leave, they wouldn't. It probably had something to do with the security –for all he knows, these women has some kind of knife or gun hidden underneath their kimonos, strapped around their legs.

The women bowed back, "Please let us know if you'll need anything."

"Y-yeah. T-thank you v-very much."

Surprisingly, the women left without any question. He assumed that his mother has left quite an impression to them –an impression big enough for their trust in her to extend to him. After mentally thanking his mom, he mentally shrugged the thought and attempted to open the door.

Realizing it was unlock when he expected it to be locked, he gasped a little. Akashi must be really comfortable here, was what he thought then peeked through the small opening.

'_Akashi-kun.' _he thought as he saw the redhead sleeping.

His anger, for some reasons, disappeared. Staring at Akashi through that slight opening, Furihata felt some sort of relief. Right now, he was just glad that Akashi was okay and was sleeping right in front of him.

He was just glad that the redhead wasn't so far away anymore.

With a smile creeping up his face, finally, Furihata allowed himself in. Closing the door and ultimately forgetting to lock it, he walked over to Akashi's side and muttered his name, "Seijuurou… Seijuurou, wake up." he requested.

He put his hand in his pocket.

"Seijuurou, it's Kouki."

* * *

Akashi didn't know what was happening. All he knew was that he was hearing things, hearing Furihata call his name, asking him to wake up and open his eyes specifically. He wasn't really asleep though. He was merely lying there with eyes closed, hoping to actually fall asleep.

Hearing Furihata's voice, Akashi panicked a bit. Although it didn't show in his face, his heart couldn't conceal the truth –it was beating so fast.

'_I'm… hearing things.' _he thought.

As far as he was concerned, Furihata probably hated him right now, so the chances of him actually running after him were slow. The thought made him feel happy though –the thought of being ran after by the brunette, that is.

He decided to play along with his _imaginations_. It was unlikely it was really Furihata, after all, Furihata doesn't call him just 'Seijuurou'.

"Don't want to. You'll disappear if I do."

* * *

Disappear? Whatever it was that was running inside Akashi's head, Furihata didn't know. A sigh slipped out of his lips.

"Akashi-kun…" he whispered.

"I tried to be nice and even asked sweetly despite the bullshit you put me through but–"

Furihata pulled his hand out of his pocket along with a certain something then jumped on Akashi. Straddling Akashi, he grinned bitterly, "Here you are being all stubborn and making things even harder for me."

* * *

Feeling extra weight loaded on his body, Akashi's eyes snapped open.

He wasn't hallucinating.

With eyes all wide in disbelief, he gasped a bit, "Kouki, what are you–"

A handful of seaweed was shoved right in his mouth.

* * *

Furihata chuckled a bit after shoving the handful of seaweed right in Akashi's mouth. Feeling Akashi flinch underneath him, he snickered, "I had to borrow money from people I just met just to buy that you know. You see, Akashi-kun, you really need to learn how to shut up once in a while and listen to others."

"Right, so where do I begin…" Furihata mused, putting his hand on top of Akashi's mouth.

"Did you know, I haven't slept yet? I couldn't sleep at all last night because I didn't know how to tell you that I love you too without screwing up or saying something unnecessary. The funny thing was that, when I finally mustered up the strength to confess, no matter how lame it may come off, you weren't there anymore." he snorted.

"You've left and left me a shitty letter. I wanted you to know how I feel so badly that I just took my wallet and phone without thinking and rode the first train to Kyoto. I was so focused in finding you that I forgot that my phone's battery was dead and that I was running out of cash." he snickered at his lameness.

"I didn't know where you live and so I asked around. It took me five hours just to get here, Akashi-kun. If I hadn't bumped into Hayama-kun and Mayuzumi-kun, I would probably still be wandering around Kyoto cashless and without any means of communication." he paused.

"All those I went through just because you ran away. All those I went through because I wanted to see you, because I wanted you to know that, Akashi-kun…" he removed his hand from Akashi's mouth.

"I don't know where you got the stupid idea that I'm in love with Kagami-kun, but right now, I don't care. I just want you to know that, that idea is really stupid because the one that I love is…" Furihata paused, he leaned closer to Akashi and rested his forehead on top of his.

"I love you."

* * *

Although Furihata had already removed his hand from his mouth, Akashi found himself unable to speak. But, Kuroko… didn't he–

"…_He's studying at Seirin, belongs to __**a **__basketball and… He has red hair."_

Kuroko used '**a**' –goddamn it, '**a**'.

'…_Well that was a stupid mistake on my part.' _Akashi mentally scolded. He couldn't believe how that he made such mistake. He was supposed to be absolute, damn it. Perhaps this is what people mean when they say there's no such thing as sense in love.

"Kou–"

* * *

He wanted to hear Akashi call his name. He liked being called by Akashi. Who didn't like having your name called by the one you like in the first place? But, more than hearing Akashi call him, he wanted to return the kiss Akashi had given him that night.

Not allowing Akashi to finish, he moved his head and placed his mouth on top of Akashi's. Perceiving an opening, he slipped his tongue inside Akashi's mouth and began exploring his insides.

'_Payback…' _Furihata mentally hummed.

* * *

Feeling Furihata's tongue inside his mouth, Akashi found himself unable to move at first. He was shocked –in a really good way. Maybe that was how Furihata felt when he kissed him. Akashi being Akashi though, it didn't take long before he got used to the feeling. Draping his arms around Furihata's body while kissing back and fighting Furihata's tongue for dominance, smoothly, he interchanged their position.

A soft moan escaped Furihata's mouth after realizing that Akashi was now topping.

Needing to breath, Akashi pulled away for a moment. Maybe it was because Furihata hadn't slept yet and was running around Kyoto for the past hours which was why he was panting so heavily underneath him already even though they just kissed. Nevertheless, it was sexy –Furihata panting like that, all flustered red, with eyes only half open, brows furrowed and sweating a bit.

Akashi smirked.

"Kouki, do you know how much I want to do perverted stuffs to you right now?" leaning closer to Furihata's ear, the redhead whispered sensually then licked the brunette's ear.

"A-Ahh…! A-Akashi-kun…!" he murmured softly, gasping a bit.

He moved away from Furihata's ears and faced the brunette straight on. Man, he was so cute, all defenseless like this.

"Even though you've defied me and I'd like to ravish you and do you hard, since went through all that trouble, I'll be gentle, K-o-u-k-i~"

Akashi slipped his hand in Furihata's shirt.

"A-Ahh!"

* * *

"Akashi-ku–!"

Right in the midst of Furihata and Akashi's rated M activity, suddenly the door creaked open without them noticing.

They only realized that they were no longer alone when they heard a gasp.

"Seijuu– EHH!?"

It was Seiji.

"Honey, are you oka– WOAH RIGHT THERE!"

With Keiko.

* * *

"F-father?"

* * *

"M-MOM!?"

* * *

There was a pregnant pause until Akashi decided to speak up.

"It's not what it looks like."

Real smooth, Akashi. Real smooth. Not so convincing however with his hands slipped in Furihata's pants like that.

"… Or perhaps it is how it looks like. Nevertheless, we need a moment to fix ourselves. Will you leave us for a while?"

Furihata stared at Akashi in disbelief.

How could he be so calm about this!? This could get them disowned, damn it!

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I tried to make this the last chapter. Haha. But it'd be too crowded if I pitched everything in here so… there will be another chapter and hopefully that'll be the last.

I don't know if I got Hayama's and Mayuzumi's characters correctly. Haha. Sorry. Anyway, for some reason, I ship them and so yeah... fufu-

Anyway, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you look forward to the next and probably the last chapter. Until then, see you.


	21. One

**Disclaimer: **I do not own KnB.

**Pairing: **Akashi/Furihata

* * *

**Upside Down**

* * *

**Chapter 21: **One  


* * *

Sitting nervously beside Akashi and in front of his mother and stepfather, only separated from them by a table, Furihata nibbled on his lower lip. They were going to be disowned, weren't they? After being caught doing such act, that was the only conclusion he could arrive at.

On the other hand, Akashi remained calm and composed. If all else fail, he could always manipulate the Generation of Miracles members into doing things for him, like getting him a house, a job and etc. There's also his Rakuzan Team. He snorted a bit. Love was troublesome. But Furihata was worth all the trouble anyway.

Love, it didn't just make people weak –it also made people weak and strong all at the same time. Really, it doesn't make any sense but it felt right.

Smiling a bit, Akashi grabbed Furihata's hand. Squeezing on it a bit, he declared, "I'll take responsibility and marry your son."

"I love Kouki after all. You love me too, don't you?" he glanced at Furihata.

Furihata glanced back at him. Gulping, he shut his eyes tightly then exclaimed, "I- I love Akashi-kun t-too! I-I know we might get d-disowned f-for this b-but… I… there's nothing I can do. I really t-tried to hold back a-and well… it didn't w-work out."

After saying so, he moved his hand, intertwined his fingers with Akashi and squeezed on his hand.

If Furihata felt like anything, he felt like a woman telling his parents that she wanted to marry a man she's been secretly dating for years –secretly because her parents were against the man. Better yet, a woman announcing pregnancy with her boyfriend to her parents. He bit his lower lip. Damn, he was nervous.

* * *

It wasn't until a little later when finally, their parents reacted. Seiji was first to react.

"T-this… I-I-I… Oh my god! I- K-Keiko, son, my son!" he whimpered then clung onto his future wife's arm.

"M-My son is…" he sniffed.

Wiping the comical tears that had formed at the perimeters of his eyes, he sobbed, "M-My son is in love! H-how fast time flies? H-he was just… so small then, b-but then look at him now! H-he wants to g-get married! K-Keiko… I just–" he cut himself off and began bawling.

"Seijuurou, look at you all grown up!" he cried, nudging his head onto his fiancée's arm.

Keiko sighed and pat Seiji's head, "Damn. My son's bottoming. That's just…" she sighed yet again. What was she expecting? Between Akashi and Furihata, of course Furihata would be the one bottoming.

* * *

The reaction of their parents had surprised the two. They acted as if their announcement was the most normal thing in the world. Truth be told, Furihata was expecting to see an infuriated Seiji and a bitter Keiko –okay, maybe his mother was a bit bitter, but not for the reason he expected her to be!

"Y-you're not mad?" Furihata lamely stammered.

Keiko and Seiji glanced at him.

"Eh? Is there anything to be mad about?" was Seiji's reaction while "No." was Keiko's.

Akashi shot his father a glare. For a second, he really thought he was going to say 'My son is… homo', but he didn't. Instead, he went off saying something like 'My son is in love'. He was really expecting something terrible, but then all he got was his father acting all… fatherly in a girly way. Was there a catch? Did they think this was a joke?

"This isn't a joke, father. I really do love Kouki." he affirmed seriously.

Seiji tilted his head, "And so? I don't see the point why I should be mad." he muttered.

"M-mom?" Furihata spoke in a tone which implied that he had the same question as Akashi.

Keiko shrugged, "What? I'm not mad. I mean… Right now, I'm just really disappointed because you're not topping. Truth be told, honey, I've been secretly shipping you with Seijuurou-kun from the beginning. If there's anything that shocked me today, then that'd be Seiji's reaction. I thought he'd be mad too."

Furihata choked, "Y-you've been what!?"

Keiko snickered, "Sorry, darling. Your mom's a fujoshi." she broke out in laughter.

Hearing the mini conversation, Seiji sniffled, "Whaaat?! Why does everyone think I'll get mad?" he whined childishly.

"How mean…" he muttered.

Akashi frowned, "Father." he firmly said, implying something.

Seiji glanced at him. He sighed and postured up.

"Seijuurou, I'm not mad. I don't see any reason to be mad. You allowed me to marry Keiko, and I know you're happy that I found someone for me. It's just fair –and I think normal, for me to be happy and allow you to love whoever you want to love. You respected me, and so, I guess, if you're still suspicious, just take this as me respecting you back." the older redhead smiled at his son.

"You're my son; you're my adorable son. Your preferences doesn't change the fact that you're the adorable son I've been adoring since then. Seijuurou, I'm going to be honest. I'm a bit sad that it crossed your mind, me hating you because of something like this. I'll love you no matter what you do, what you become and who you love. Please remember that from now on." Seiji looked away; he seemed to be a bit embarrassed saying such sentimental things.

Keiko pat his head, "Same goes for me. Even though you're the uke, I still love you, Kouki."

Furihata bit his lower lip. Tears formed at the edge of his eyes. He didn't want to be sentimental, but he just couldn't help but to become all sappy and emotional. After all the things that Seiji and Keiko had said, he felt relieved –so relieved that it was bringing him to tears.

"M-mom… S-Seiji-san…" he muttered, holding back the tears.

"Father, stepmother, I will forever be grateful for this." Akashi bowed.

Seiji shyly scratched his cheek, "Plus, if you guys are worried who'll continue the bloodline, don't underestimate Keiko and I. We're still young. Heh. Aren't we, Keiko-chaaan~?" his eyes glinted significantly as he glanced at Keiko.

Keiko's face darkened. It didn't take too long before a handful of seaweed was shoved inside Seiji's mouth.

Furihata sweat dropped. Akashi flinched.

"You… talk way too much."

* * *

Left alone in the Akashi residence after Furihata and Akashi had went home, Keiko turned to Seiji. With arms folded, she asked seriously, "Hey, you're really not mad?"

She was just really curious.

Seiji turned to her. With a small smile on his face, he shook his head, "Nah."

"I'm not going to deny it, when I saw them, I was really shocked. Even more shocked when they confirmed they liked each other. But then, it really helped a lot, how Kouki-kun resembles you and how Seijuurou resembles me. Before I could get angry, I suddenly thought of you and thought 'If Keiko was a guy, would I not fall in love with her?'" he paused, then looked away, maintaining his smile.

"At that time, all I could think of was 'If that's the case, then I'm not in love. I'm just living up to the standards of society. It's not their fault they're both boys. If one of them was a girl, I'd most definitely allow them, so why won't I let them be just because they're both guys?' I mentally snickered at that time and thought, 'Bloodline? We can makedo with that.' I mean, we can, can't we, Keiko-chan?" he joked at the end.

Keiko sniggered, "Ahh, Seiji, this is no good."

"Eh? What's no good?" the redhead blinked innocently.

"We thought of the same thing. I kind of saw in them our 'yaoi' counterpart and so I couldn't get mad. I wasn't mad and won't be mad to begin with, but the fact that they looked just like us –well, in a way, made me lose my capability to get mad at them even though I'm not really mad." she giggled.

"At this rate, I'm going to love you even more. Haha~" she finished and burst in laughter.

Seiji blushed, "Uwaaah, I want to go on honeymoon already!"

* * *

Arriving at the Furihata residence and making it at the entrance, Furihata had collapsed. Home –finally he was home. Down on the floor, almost immediately, he fell asleep. Although he had fallen asleep in the train on their way back, nothing beats the feeling of being home.

"Kouki, don't sleep on the floor. You'll catch a cold." Akashi reminded. But it was later proven as useless seeing that Furihata didn't even groan.

A sigh passed his lips.

Leaving his luggage at the side, he picked Furihata up and brought the brunette to _his_ room. Lying him on the bed, he thought of leaving but decided to do otherwise. The luggage could wait, but the comfort of sleeping next to the one you like couldn't. Snorting, he got in his bed and crawled up right next to the brunette.

Encircling his arms around the slightly shorter one's body, he snuggled on Furihata's neck and murmured, "You're troublesome."

Much to his surprise, he got a response, "You're absolute, Akashi-kun…"

"Absolutely just as troublesome."

Akashi snorted.

"Hmp. Shut up, Kouki. Go to sleep before I change my mind letting you rest and ravish you instead."

* * *

A week later, the most awaited day had finally come –Keiko and Seiji's wedding. After the ceremony, a small program had been held. In the program, a news had been broken that shocked everybody, except for Furihata and Akashi.

"This wasn't supposed to happen till after the wedding but… hahaha, I'm going to be a dad of three kids from now on! Keiko's one week pregnant."

Furihata cringed slightly at the thought that something had happened between his mom and Akashi's dad after they've left them alone in the house. Akashi snorted, he sort of had a feeling something like this was going to happen.

After the announcement, the couple shared a dance along with the others who wanted to dance as well and due to popular demand, Furihata and Akashi were asked to dance. Soon after, the program ended and the newly wed couple headed off to their honeymoon.

* * *

For the last time until next school year (in which it had been decided that Akashi will be transferred to Seirin for good and will live with Furihata until then), Akashi and Furihata headed home together. Getting home and changing into their casual attire, Furihata plopped down on the bed and rolled around, only to be halted by Akashi, suddenly pouncing on him and pinning him down.

"Kouki, aren't we as good as married now?" he flatly asked, smirking.

Furihata blushed, "U-uhmm… I guess so."

"Then technically, it's our honeymoon too, right?" he pushed through, his smirking widening by the second.

Furihata didn't answer. His face got redder.

"Let's continue what we left off at my house. Ahh… but this time though, there's no way I'll be gentle. You had defied me after all, therefore you must be punished~" Akashi licked his lips, in such way as if he just saw something really delicious.

Furihata gulped nervously, "A-Akashi-kun, I... uhh–"

"I wasn't asking you. I was telling you. My words are absolute. Have you forgotten, Kouki?" Akashi paused.

"Hmph. Plus, judging from how your arms are now wrapped around my neck, you want to do it to, don't you?"

There was a glint in Akashi's eyes.

Furihata's face color had put Akashi's hair to shame. Looking away, he murmured shyly, "Yeah, but I want to top."

Akashi snorted and retreated away from Furihata, "Let's go to sleep."

Lying beside Furihata and was ready to sleep, it was then when Akashi was faced with Furihata's secret weapon.

Pinning Akashi down, and with a determined look in his eyes, he requested nicely, "P-please, Akashi-kun. I just want to know how it feels to be in top. My mom's words got me curious. It got me thinking what's so great about being on top. So please, Akashi-kun! Next time and the times after that next time, I'll bottom. Just… this time. On our first time. Please."

"I'm really curious."

_Furihata had played dirty._

_That cuteness should be illegal._

* * *

**Extra:**

"K-Kouki… you're not supposed to put it in just ye– Ahh!"

Too late. Furihata already did. Akashi's eyes widened. Beads of tears literally sprinkled out from his eyes as he gasped out in pain.

Why the hell did he agree to this again?

"I'm sorry, Akashi-kun! Akashi-kun…?"

Akashi's body had limped.

"A-Akashi-kun!"

Furihata was never going to top ever again, not on Akashi's watch.

**End of Extra**

[ ***note: **Please don't just try (do) this at home (or anywhere in particular). Thank you. ]

* * *

**End of 'Upside Down'**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Yaaay. It finally ended. Thank you for reading up until the end, everyone. Anyway, I've got bad news (or I dunno). I may not do the spin-off after all. I'm not sure yet, but I guess… uhh, just don't expect anything from me right now. Expectation is the root of all heartaches and I don't want to break anyone's heart. You are all so kind to me after all.

Anyway, before I end this story, I would just like to thank each and everyone of you, again. I've thought of dropping this story several times, but because everyone's so nice and supportive, I was able to think something up whenever I ended up screwing up. It's all thanks to everyone that I was able to finish.

I'm sorry for troubling you, guys, in any way. I'd also like to apologize for pulling a prank like that. Haha~

For the last time in this fanfic, thank you for reading. If you have anything you want to say, feel free to say it. Hope you enjoyed reading up until the end. I love you all.

Until then. See you soon. It was fun working with all of you.


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